The Game's Afoot
by Fox Murphy
Summary: Feet pounded on the stone floor, sharp rhythm matching the harsh, panted breaths that belonged to the two teenage boys racing down the corridor. Another spell arched toward them, and Remus sincerely wished Sirius had just stayed in the common room.
1. The Perils of Boredom

A/N - Originally this was going to be a oneshot with just the Prewett twins, and then I sort of decided it'd be a lot more fun with the Marauders and with more chapters. I don't own a thing - it's all JKR's. If it were mine I would at least have a paid account on LJ. Takes place in the spring term of 5th year, Marauders Era, and all errors are indeed my own. I think I covered everything *checks* yes, so here we go.....

* * *

Feet pounded on the stone floor, sharp rhythm matching the harsh, panted breaths that belonged to the two teenage boys racing down the corridor. A flare of blue light arched toward the runners, but the taller boy in back deflected the spell into a nearby suit of armor. Shouts and yells echoed up the corridor, but before another spell could strike the boys discovered an open door and an empty classroom. Quickly changing direction, they dashed into the room and slammed the door shut behind them, sealing the lock with a spell for good measure.

Breathless and red-faced, the boys sank to the floor and leaned against the wall, listening as the sound of footsteps grew louder and then faded once more as their pursuers vanished. Hesitantly, both boys cast sideways glances at each other, slow grins spreading across each of their faces. Both boys wore Gryffindor robes, but all other appearances were vastly different. Gideon Prewett rested nearest to the door, his mop of wavy red hair plastered to his head. The deep scarlet color that had spread across his face made the freckles across his nose stand out, and his eyes were squeezed shut. Beside him was Remus Lupin, sandy brown hair sticking up in a messy way that would make James Potter jealous. The chase seemed to have made him look more lively than usual, a flush of color on his usually pale cheeks and his blue eyes bright. And his heart was still absolutely racing. As soon as Remus managed to catch his breath and feel confident in his ability to form words, he wearily turned toward his companion.

"If we get out of this, I think I'm going to kill you Prewett."

* * *

_Earlier that evening..._

Tuesday nights in the Gryffindor common room usually managed to be fairly predictable. There was homework, there was studying, there was much talk of Quidditch, and there was Sirius very determinedly trying to convince someone to entertain him. The first unfortunate victim had been Peter, who had entered the common room with an armload of books. Sirius literally leaped over the back of the chair he had been sitting in, badly startling Peter, who threw his books in panic.

"Hullo Wormtail."

"Hello Sirius," Peter grumbled, casting a sullen look at the dark haired boy before stooping to retrieve his books. "What do you want?"

Sirius shrugged and pushed his hair out of his eyes, finally picking one of the books up off the floor.

"Just looking for something to do. Why do you have Charms for Beginners?"

Scowling and now rather red faced, Peter snatched the book away from Sirius, checking to make sure no one else had seen.

"It's got a spell I've been looking for."

"Oh. Well. Never mind that, I've got a bloody brilliant idea for a prank."

Peter ignored Sirius, moving past him and across the room, ordering a first year away from one of the desks near the stairs. He dropped his books and sank into the chair, fixing Sirius with a very pointed look.

"No. I'm busy tonight. Go ask James."

For a moment, Sirius looked utterly confused. The expression did not last long however, as he soon spotted Remus watching the whole scene amusedly from the safety of an armchair. Of course, as soon as Sirius turned his attention away from Peter, Remus found the whole situation significantly less funny. Sirius had a dangerous look in his eyes that often meant he was feeling reckless. Remus hurriedly returned his attention to his homework, trying to pretend he had seen nothing. The effort was in vain, however, as a hand crept over the back of his chair and seized hold of his Transfiguration book.

"Give it back, Sirius."

"Moony, you're telling me you haven't finished this yet?"

"No, I'm just reading it again for my own personal enjoyment," Remus rolled his eyes.

"Wouldn't you rather go out for the night? Wander the grounds a bit?" Sirius now also sported the grin that had long been a warning sign of imminent trouble.

"I do that more often than I care to think about."

Sirius choked back a barking laugh at this, but still held the book just out of reach. Clearing his throat, Remus locked eyes with his friend and used his most authoritative prefect tone.

"We shouldn't take things that don't belong to us. Give the book back now, Sirius."

Sirius resisted for a minute or so, adopting the pout that usual won him his way with girls and sometimes with James. Remus however was proud to say that the look had no effect on him whatsoever. Finally Sirius dropped the book back into Remus' hand, trying to hide his annoyance and failing badly.

The remaining target happened to be James himself, seated at another table and scribbling rapidly, muttering to himself. Typically anytime James talked to himself, that acted as a sign that he was in Quidditch captain mode and was not to be disturbed. This particular evening, Sirius did not seem to care. Remus watched them over the top of his book, waiting for the explosion.

"My dear Prongs, what are you doing?"

"Working, Padfoot."

Sirius leaned across the table, effectively blocking James' ability to do anything but make eye contact.

"Why is everyone working tonight?"

"Why aren't you?" James pushed Sirius out of the way, keeping his tone impressively level.

"I dislike homework."

"Then go find something else to do. We'll prank another night."

Sirius scowled and then leaned across the table again, clearly unconcerned with his physical well being and not either not understanding or not caring that James was in a foul mood.

"So where do I fit in these Quidditch plans?"

James glanced up for a moment, glaring at Sirius.

"You don't. I swear Sirius, you're my best mate but I won't have you on the team."

"Come on Prongs, I'm good. And I've got all summer to practice. I'd be a bloody good beater."

"I'm sure you would," James agreed, "But I have an awful feeling you'd be hitting bludgers at various Slytherins in the stands, and I need two beaters, not one."

Feigning offense at this, Sirius stood up straight again, even though he and Remus and everyone else in the room knew James was right. Given the choice between actually playing the game and taking free shots at Severus Snape, Sirius would chose Snape every time.

"You're looking at another one Marauder team then," Sirius said lightly.

"Not since Moony's going to be playing seeker for me," James paused here and fixed Remus with a dazzling smile. "Isn't that right Moony?"

"No."

"You keep saying that, but you'll come round eventually. Go read or something Sirius."

"I do not read for fun. I am not Remus," Sirius really did seem offended by this comment, and Remus debated whether or not he ought to be offended as well.

"I don't care. Go do something," James waved him away and returned to his Quidditch work. Sirius muttered something to himself, scowling and flexing his fingers as though he were about to hit something. Then he grabbed a book that someone had left behind, a battered and worn History of Magic book that likely held no interesting content. Sirius tipped backwards over the arm of chair, book open above his head, and stretched himself out across the seat. Remus watched him for a few minutes to ensure that he was in fact sitting still and being quiet and that this was not some trap, and then returned to his own homework.

Two hours later, Remus had managed to finish his homework for McGonagall and an essay for Potions, occasionally checking over his shoulder to make sure that no one intended to interrupt him again. But further interruptions seemed to be out of the question this evening as James was busily arguing over Quidditch strategy with Thaddeus MacLaggen and Peter had occupied himself in the corner with a pile of books and parchments and still had yet to move. Sirius, leader of any and all interruptions, lay sprawled across the same armchair, book open and laying on his face. Whether he was attempting to learn by absorption or simply asleep, Remus neither knew nor cared. Either way, Remus was glad to prove to himself that absent the usual evening madness, he was perfectly capable of finishing all of his homework. Given the extra time, and with one more cursory check of his surroundings, Remus leaned back in his chair and retrieved a book he had been meaning to read for quite some time. Peace and quiet happened to be a rare commodity, and he intended to take advantage of the moment.

Of course, the book was utterly mad, a detective novel where the hero was a wizard working in the Muggle world. James would have declared the thing rubbish, but Remus had always had a soft spot for rubbish stories with gaping plot holes. Unfortunately, by the third chapter, James' argument with Thaddeus ended in a spectacular shouting match that drew the attention of everyone else in the common room. Both boys were red faced and waving their hands wildly, and finally Thaddeus snatched a piece of parchment off the table and stormed away. Remus watched the younger boy stomp his way up the stairs, then counted to ten before returning his attention to James.

"What was that all about?"

"Nothing," James growled, flicking his wand at the remaining parchments, which promptly caught fire. "Bloody prat and his ridiculous Quidditch ideas. Absolute rubbish."

At the mention of rubbish, Remus stuffed his detective novel back into his bag, not really feeling much in the mood to defend his chosen literature. James never noticed, still prodding the smoldering papers with his wand and grumbling to himself.

"I need to go hex someone now."

Remus checked the clock above the fireplace. Curfew arrived in half an hour, not that James put much stock by the fact.

"We haven't got long to be out."

"You going to dock points from me?" James raised an eyebrow, his expression positively daring Remus to start a fight. For a moment, Remus had to admit he was seriously considering enforcing the rule. He had been chewed out plenty of times by Lily Evans for letting his friends slide already. But James looked quite angry, and his wand still out on the table and glowing threateningly, and Remus just sighed and shook his head.

"No, fine, do whatever you want."

James' eyes brightened, a dark smile stretching across his face, and Remus tried very hard to pretend that he felt no guilt whatsoever for unleashing an angry James Potter on an unsuspecting student body. Or for allowing him to break the rules once again. Or for quite possibly being the worst prefect in school history.

"Thanks Moony," James cheered up at once, vanishing the ashy remains of the parchments from the tabletop. "You want to come along?"

"You know, I think I'll pass on this one," Remus smiled weakly.

 "Alright, Padfoot, look's like it's you and me then."

The usual response, when James delivered that particular line, tended towards triumphant shouting, vaguely threatening statements, and the occasional toppling of furniture as Sirius eagerly crossed the room. This time, however, there was only silence. James froze halfway to the portrait, frowning over his shoulder, Remus had a sudden growing sense of horror, and even Peter finally turned his attention away from his schoolwork. All three of them realized, at precisely the same time, that the chair Sirius had occupied for most of the evening now appeared quite empty.

"How long has he been gone?" Peter asked slowly, looking vaguely panicked as he rose from his seat.

"He was bothering me before I started arguing with Thaddeus," James stared at the chair as though Sirius might appear at any moment, simply invisible and waiting to jump out and scare them. "He can't have been gone long."

"I'm slightly more concerned with where he's gone, not how long," Remus muttered. "He could've gone upstairs."

Peter shook his head slowly, fidgeting nervously with his wand.

"No, no Thaddeus was the only one who's gone upstairs for awhile. I was watching."

"You lot looking for Black?"

The new voice belonged to Mary MacDonald, a blond girl in their year who was possessed with a distinct dislike for anyone who claimed to be part of the Marauders.

"Why yes Mary, we are," James tried his best to sound charming. "Have you seen him?"

"He left ages ago, sort of looked at you three and just slipped out," Mary shrugged and claimed Peter's now vacant seat. At his slight protest, Mary scowled at him and promptly banished all his papers and books into his bag. Peter made no further attempt to argue, a slightly frightened look on his face.

"A-and that's great. Now Sirius is out wandering the castle."

James smiled eagerly again, and Remus barely managed to stop himself from groaning. Or swearing.

"We are not going looking for him Prongs."

"Come on Moony, it'll give me a chance to blow off some steam."

"I was under the impression that's what you used Quidditch for."

"Well yes," James admitted, still moving toward the portrait hole rather determinedly. "But this seems much more exciting just now."

"Of course it does," Remus sighed, dropping his head into his hands. "Fine. Let's go get him before he does something unusually stupid."

James seized hold of the portrait triumphantly and pushed, light from the common room spilling out into the dark corridor beyond.

"Brilliant. Let's get moving then."

Rolling his eyes and already regretting this decision, Remus left his bag on the floor and crossed the room, ignoring the very pointed looks from Mary MacDonald as he exited into the hall. Peter stumbled over the ledge seconds later, slamming the portrait shut behind him and already breathing heavily. Remus could practically smell the panic radiating from the blond boy.

"Mary's going to tell on us you know," Peter mumbled. "We'll get into trouble."

James' eyes flashed dangerously.

"I'd think you'd have stopped whining by now Wormtail. We're sixteen year old wizards."

"I know, I just..." whatever else Peter thought was said too quietly for even Remus to hear. But James' scowl faded abruptly into his usual cocky smile and he wrapped an arm around Peter's shoulders. Remus knew precisely what James was trying to do, and he turned away and lit his wand, pretending to be looking out for teachers.

"Come on now Pete, we're Marauders. How often do we get caught?"

"Not...not very often," Peter admitted.

"And how about this, we'll split up to look for Sirius."

Peter was not the only one startled by this statement, as Remus very nearly broke his neck as his head whipped around.

"What?!"

James grinned still, his glasses catching the wand light and shining in the darkness. He revealed a bundle that had apparently been stuffed inside his jacket, a bundle Remus knew from years of experience would unfold into an Invisibility Cloak. Swinging the cloak around his shoulders, all of James save for his head disappeared, and in the dim light he looked rather like a ghost with no body.

"We'll make it a competition. I'll use my cloak, and Wormtail, you can be ah, well, Wormtail."

Peter looked positively delighted at this prospect, all earlier hesitation gone. Remus was unsure whether he was more disappointed in how easily Peter could be swayed or the tactics James resorted to for persuasion.

"And what precisely am I supposed to do?"

"I would not recommend changing into Moony. Wolf powers aside, we are in the middle of a school Remus," James' disembodied voice informed him cheerily, the boy now entirely hidden by his cloak.

"Shame," Remus muttered, "I think I'd be guaranteed to win. Unless of course, I'd lose points for actually eating Sirius."

"Just walk around on your own. Use your investigative skills, like that Muggle detective you like so much."

"I will have you know," Remus frowned, "That I think Sherlock Holmes could very well have been a wizard."

"You and your books Moony," James laughed from somewhere to his left, and Remus resisted an urge to push him down the stairs. Peter had been about to transform when a sudden thought struck him and he froze.

"What happens to the losers?"

The question was entirely valid, and one that had been bothering Remus greatly. When James made up contests, one never wanted to be the loser.

"Oh, we'll think of something later," the words sounded ominous, even without the added effect of whatever James' expression happened to be at the moment. A nervous look passed between Remus and Peter, and then James was laughing again.

"Well let's get moving. First one to find Sirius wins!"

James' voice faded and so did his footsteps as he brushed past Remus, still entirely invisible. Claws skittered on the stone floor, and then Peter scurried away as well, down the stairs and toward the kitchens. Remus now stood alone in the dark hallway, wand hanging at his side. Eventually he would stop letting himself be dragged into this sort of mess. He had been reading, for Merlin's sake.

"I hope you're quite happy."

The comment, although directed at James, was heard only by a few portraits and a passing ghost, all of which gave him very confused stares. Sighing again, Remus did his very best to remind himself that this sort of thing was an abuse of his friendship, a terrible imposition. But somehow he could not seem to fight back the raw excitement that had stirred within him, the sudden alert energy that had him watching the shadows. As he loped off in what he hoped was the opposite direction of James, one hand on the railing and the other holding his wand, Remus could not help but grin.


	2. Split Decisions

A/N - Part the second, wherein our heroes manage to get severely sidetracked.

* * *

At the first sight of Mrs. Norris, Peter instantly abandoned his animagus shape. He had scampered down the stairs in the general direction of the kitchens (because maybe Sirius was hungry, and even if not, he himself certainly was) and fallen over the last step. Clearly no one had thought to design the staircases to accommodate rats. Sliding across the floor and into a statue, Peter had been rather dazed for a second or two, and when he finally managed to regain his feet he caught sight of two yellow eyes staring at him from the shadows. He yelped, or squeaked rather, and instantly he was once again a blond boy wearing a too-small sweater crouched at the base of the statue.

"Go away," he hissed. The cat ignored him, however, and simply continued staring. More unnerved than he cared to admit, Peter pulled himself to his feet and slipped into another corridor, keeping his eyes on Mrs. Norris. The cat was still watching him as he shut the door and tapped the lock with his wand. James had decided that Filch used the cat as a spy to find students. While Peter was unsure whether or not human to animal telepathy was possible, he certainly did not plan to wait around until Filch showed up to find out.

Wishing he had thought to bring along the map, Peter wandered along the corridor until he passed a painting that looked more familiar.

"Scuse me, which way to the kitchens?"

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" a gruff wizard with a shortly trimmed beard demanded.

"I'm looking for my friend. And I'm hungry."

"Well, you're going the right way. Take a left at the next suit of armor and you'll find it."

"Thanks," Peter murmured, ignoring several paintings' insistence that he return to his dormitory. He had been out wandering the castle loads of times, usually under the safety of James' invisibility cloak or with Moony and Padfoot and Prongs. Wandering alone was a first, and Peter could not help but feel a little proud of himself. Scouring the castle for adventure, conjuring enemies in the shadows. Vaguely Peter wondered if this was how James and Sirius felt when they were plotting. He did not have much time to think, however, as footsteps echoed in the corridor behind him. With a gasp and a pop, Peter was Wormtail once more, scurrying into the shadows behind a suit of armor.

Silently he hoped that whoever belonged to the wobbling wand light had not seen him, and his heartbeat raced in his ears as the light passed over his hiding place. Pressed against the back of an armored leg, Peter remained entirely invisible as the footsteps and whoever they belonged to walked past. Curious now, far more curious than he ought to have been, Peter peered out from behind the armor and saw not one but two figures moving away down the corridor. His stomach growled, and he thought of the contest and finding Sirius, and a million other things he ought to be doing. But whoever those two were, they were at least heading in the general direction of the kitchens.. Usually his sense of smell was greatly improved as Wormtail, but when the duo passed he had been far more concerned with staying hidden than with identifying anyone. Still, there lingered a faint smell of ink and sweat and chocolate. After living in a dormitory with Remus Lupin for five years, Peter did not need to be a rat to recognize the smell of chocolate. But there was something else, a sickly sort of smell that turned his stomach.

James would follow them, and so would Sirius, and Remus probably would too, just because he was curious. Peter debated a moment longer, then charged out of his hiding place and raced across the corridor after the fading trail of light. He would be brave, for once, brave Wormtail who did something interesting and smart. His claws skittered on the stone floor and he hoped no one was listening too carefully. Stomach growling again, Peter ignored the portrait that granted access into the kitchens and kept going, staying safely in the shadows. The light vanished around another corner, and Peter poked his head around the wall as he heard soft voices ahead. Smell was not the only thing that being Wormtail improved.

"She said she'd meet us out here."

"I'm sure I could get in if we needed too."

"I don't really want to get into a fight with the Hufflepuffs."

"Good point."

Then a portrait swung open, warm yellow light spilling into the hallway. A girl with long dark hair slipped out, her face shadowed by the light behind her. She glanced back once, however, as though to make sure she no one was watching, and Peter recognized Joanna Dearborn. Her elder brother was a Gryffindor in his year, and she was a year younger if Peter remembered rightly. She had much of her brother's fierce loyalty and very little of his headstrong nature, but right now she mostly looked afraid.

"I was starting to think you wouldn't come."

The two figures that Peter had followed turned on their heels, and as the portrait slammed shut and the wand light returned, the faces of Evan Rosier and Terrence Nott were revealed. Both boys were Slytherins, Rosier in his final year and Nott in his fifth, and in the dark corridor they both looked quite unpleasant. Nott slipped behind Joanna, prodding her forward with his wand.

"Let's get moving, then. Haven't got all night."

Joanna stumbled forward behind Rosier, who was grinning. The expression had a very disturbing effect on Rosier's face, the scars twisting unpleasantly. Peter pressed back against the wall as the odd trio passed, light striking inches away from his nose. And then they moved on, marching up the corridor much faster than they had come. Peter waited until they were out of sight and then changed back into himself, tapping his wand on his palm. Wherever Nott and Rosier were going, nothing good was going to happen, and Peter felt faintly ill at the thought. He ought to go find James and Remus, they would know what to do. Sirius would find his way back to the common room eventually. But then the footsteps started to fade, and the light slipped around the corner, and Peter realized he had no idea where Joanna was being taken. If he went to find James and Remus, he would lose the trail entirely. And in the time required to go all the way back to Gryffindor tower and retrieve the map, any number of things could happen.

Nervous and fumbling with his wand now, palms sweaty and face hot, Peter squeezed his eyes shut and told himself that he would have to do this by himself. This was his chance. Without opening his eyes Peter changed into Wormtail and dashed away after the Slytherins and Joanna, willing himself to be brave just his once.

* * *

James made quick work of his first route past Ravenclaw tower. The hallway had been entirely empty, save for one couple snogging in the corner. From beneath the cloak James had howled spectacularly, and the suddenly white faced couple had bolted for the safety of their common room. James then charmed the eagle statue to insult anyone who tried to enter, just for good measure. Wandering back down the stairs, wand behind his ear and hands in his pocket, James replayed a few Quidditch strategies in his mind, debated how best to bribe Remus to play seeker, and recounted his latest rejection by one Lily Evans.

This incident had been especially stinging, because Lily had lectured and raved at him unpleasantly and never even given him a chance to talk. And on top of that grave injustice, James had turned to leave and come face to face with Severus Snape. A smirking, barely controlling his laughter, Snape, that James had subsequently hexed into a stack of nearby books. Before Snape could recover or Lily could do anything more than shout, James had bolted for the door, still fuming when he reached the common room. Sirius' attempts at attention and Thaddeus' bloody ridiculous arguing had not helped matters.

Now, however, James felt considerably better. Maybe the cause was the cloak or the cool night air or the thrum of adrenaline in his blood, or maybe the fact that after five years he still got a rush from sneaking out into the dark and empty castle. Usually he had backup, Sirius bouncing with eager excitement, Remus telling them all this was a bad idea, Peter nervously laughing along anyway. The quiet rather unnerved him, and the cloak seemed too big with only himself underneath. James shrugged off the feeling and kept walking, determined to win his own competition. After all, Sirius was his best mate, and James felt he ought to know where his best mate would wander. He descended down the stairs and into the entrance hall, wondering for the millionth time why he had not grabbed the map from his bag along with the cloak. He sighed to himself, stepping as quietly as possible across the cold stone floor to avoid the echo of footsteps and wishing he had brought socks as well. After checking to make sure that no one was watching, not even a ghost or Filch's blasted cat, James set his shoulder to the door of the Great Hall and pushed. The door creaked open just wide enough for him to slip through, and James supposed it was just as well that Wormtail had gone his own way. Letting the door close slowly behind him, James raised his wand and made sure he was indeed alone before pulling off the cloak.

"Lumos."

Light flared from the tip of his wand, bathing the empty tables and benches in a steady blue-white glow. James slung the cloak over his shoulder, ready to slip under at a moments notice, and then moved slowly forward.

"Padfoot, you in here?"

No answer came, and James stooped to check below the tables just in case Sirius had decided to hide and try to scare him. There were only shadows though, and James stood up again, thoroughly perplexed.

"Evening James."

The deep voice startled him, and James jumped in surprise, sending his glasses flying from his face and across the floor.

"Hullo Kingsley."

James raised his wand and squinted, trying to make out the shape of his glasses. Kingsley laughed and stepped around him, a dark shape among the shadows. He bent and picked something up, waving the glasses in front of James' face. With a quick grin James grabbed his glasses, his last pair, and set them back in place. They might have been crooked, but James had never really cared and neither did Kingsley.

"What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Kingsley countered.

"Sirius wandered away," James shrugged. "We figured we ought to find him."

Both Kingsley and James froze as something hit the floor and echoed across the room, their wands pointing in the direction of the sound. They stayed like that for a few heartbeats, James' pulse racing and eager for a fight. But nothing else moved or made sound.

"Guess it must've been a mouse or something," Kingsley lowered his wand once more.

"Guess so," James smiled tightly, wondering if Wormtail had found his way into the Great Hall. "You never did say why you're out."

Kingsley's grin faded at this and he lowered his voice, leaning in closer to James.

"There's someone here."

"Is not," James snorted. "You just said so yourself."

"No, I mean in the castle. Two wizards in dark cloaks. Frank saw them and followed them inside, and then came to find me and Edmund."

James frowned as he considered the odds of two wizards sneaking past Dumbledore's security spells unnoticed. Frank Longbottom tended to be reliable enough, but Edmund Bones tended to find a need to make everything interesting.

"Why didn't you just tell a professor?"

"We did. I found Flitwick and Edmund ran into Slughorn, and they both told us not to worry about it," Kingsley looked as though this had been some sort of grave offense, and James decided against agreeing with the professors out loud.

"So why are you still out here?"

"Because I saw them," Kingsley insisted, "I couldn't see both of them, but the one fellow, his hood fell back and he looked like...like a Death Eater."

"When have you seen a Death Eater?"

"I haven't, but I mean...if I were walking in the street and happened to run across one, I imagine he'd look like the fellow I saw walking through the entrance hall."

"Honestly Kingsley, if you were walking down the street and ran across a Death Eater, I'd certainly hope you didn't pause to see if he looked like he fit the part," James laughed, which Kingsley did not seem to appreciate.

"I've got to go meet Ed and Frank. Good luck finding Black."

Without another word, Kingsley stormed away, flicking his wand and putting out the light he had conjured. James watched the Ravenclaw's retreating back for a moment, his laughter fading. Really he ought to be looking for Sirius, he had wasted too much time already talking to Kingsley. The cloak was in his hands, his wand extinguished once more, and the door to the entrance hall had opened before James really gave thought to what Kingsley had said. If there did happen to a Death Eater or two in the castle, and none of the teachers were doing anything, certainly the logical conclusion would be to go after the Death Eaters himself. Well, himself and Kingsley and whoever else had been mentioned. A heroic battle would almost certainly take place, and James would be forced to bravely risk life and limb to protect his fellow students.

All interest in finding Sirius utterly vanished at this prospect, and James grinned broadly, adrenaline and excitement buzzing through him once more. Sirius would find his way back to the common room, and James would have an excellent story to tell. He stuffed the cloak into his pocket and raced towards the door, eager to catch up with Kingsley before he went too far.

* * *

Remus stumbled down the stairs, catching hold of the railing only by sheer luck. This close to the Slytherin common room, he had not dared to keep his wand lit. James and Sirius might be a combined public enemy number one to the Slytherins, but Remus himself likely featured second on that particular list. The dungeons were also not a place that he fancied defending himself in the dark until help arrived. For the third time he swore for not remembering to grab the map. Sirius would have been far easier to locate if Remus could actually see where the boy had gone. Somehow the Slytherin common room seemed a safe enough bet, and so Remus found himself wandering the dark corridors below the castle.

A door opened just ahead, a broom cupboard based on the state of the boy and girl who tumbled out into the hallway. Both of them looked rather disheveled and were giggling and Remus sincerely hoped they were younger than him as he cleared his throat and assumed the look that boasted the ability to guilt James and Sirius. With a flick of his wand, light filled the hallway, and the couple's attention shifted instantly to Remus, who felt his face growing hot.

"Lovely evening, isn't it?"

At first the boy squinted up, and Remus knew the familiar look of being rapidly glanced over. Most people tended to see a very tall, rather thin boy who looked consistently ill. What they failed to realize was that Remus was perfectly healthy, save for one or two days a month, and possessed a wiry strength that most beaters envied. Standing abruptly, the boy scowled and tossed his shoulder back.

"Mind your own business."

"Perhaps if you could keep yours out of the broom cupboards," Remus gestured toward the still open door. "Or at least out of the hallway."

The girl, a pretty brunette, sniffed disdainfully at him now, picking herself up off the floor. The boy, meanwhile, raised one fist below Remus' chin. Clearly the tactic had been meant to intimidate, but Remus simply sighed and pushed the boy's fist away, instead tapping his silver prefect's badge with one long finger. The boy's mouth formed an 'O', and he backed away abruptly.

"S-sorry, I didn't realize..."

"Not to worry," Remus smiled cheerily. "Although I honestly can't tell which house you're from, and I'd hate to deduct points without knowing who they belong to."

"We're Slytherins," the girl muttered. "But it's not fair, we can't get into the common room."

Remus raised an eyebrow at this, an idea slowly forming in his mind along with a sense of unease and horror that he had come to associate with Sirius.

"Why not?"

The boy shrugged, retrieving his tie from the closet and shutting the door.

"Someone hexed the portrait. The older boys were trying to fix it, they won't let anyone through."

Someone, most likely, would have been Sirius Black, and if that were the case he would be long gone from the dungeons by now. Of course, that would also mean that any of the older Slytherins would not take kindly to finding a Gryffindor in their part of the castle.

"Thank you. Ah, goodnight."

Remus was halfway back up the corridor before the girl spoke again, sounding quite stunned.

"Aren't you going to deduct points?"

"Changed my mind," Remus called over his shoulder. "Not tonight."

He raced back up the stairs the way he had come, leaving two stunned Slytherins behind in the dungeons. Sirius did not have the map, but there were two ways out of the dungeons, and that gave Remus the advantage. He had, after all, drawn the map itself, and had memorized most of the short cuts and passages. At the top of the stairs he reached a dusty tapestry of a girl playing the flute for a herd of unicorns, hastily pushing the fabric aside and rushing into the musty tunnel. He coughed as the dust swirled into the air at his footsteps, but he kept his wand up and kept running. Sirius had likely taken the long way around the dungeons, since he believed his absence to be unnoticed in the common room. That would lead him past the library and into the charms corridor, which was where this passage ended, if Remus recalled correctly. A dark wall loomed up ahead, and Remus shoved the tapestry out of the way, sliding to a halt in the middle of the corridor, breathing hard. He spun once, twice, and then he spotted Sirius Black standing in the middle of the hall, staring up at one of the paintings. Remus felt his heart leap at the ridiculous fact that he had won James' stupid contest. Then he caught sight of people moving at the opposite end of the hall, wands raised and all of them very angry looking. Of course, all of them were also various shades of red and gold, and Remus had a distinctly bad feeling that Sirius had in some way been the cause. A particularly angry looking Severus Snape led the group, his wand pointed at Sirius. Still absorbed with the painting, seconds passed before Sirius noticed Remus moving towards him from the end of the corridor. He utterly failed to see Snape advancing, though Remus would never understand precisely why. The sight of a red and gold Severus Snape likely would have attracted the attention of a nearly blind house elf. Sirius waved cheerily, opposite hand still in his pocket.

"Hullo Moony. Decided to wander a bit after all?"

"Sirius, get down you idiot!" Remus shouted. Sirius merely frowned confusedly and glanced over his shoulder, finally realizing he was in imminent danger. He did not, however, make any attempts to move, and instead drew his wand with a flourish. Remus swore and charged forward, grabbing Sirius in a flying tackle that knocked the wind out of both of them but managed to avoid the red light that flared overhead. Staggering to his feet, Remus seized Sirius by the wrist and half-dragged him into a side corridor, ignoring his friend's insistence that they stay and fight.

"Marauders don't run Moony!"

"Not when there's four of us, but currently there's just two!"

Both boys ducked behind statues for cover just as more spells flew at them, sending chips of marble flying through the air. Sirius cast two stunners in the direction of their attackers, then turned to face Remus once more.

"You know, I think you may have a point."

"Thank you. Can we escape now?" Remus could hear his heart thudding in his ears, and hoped the adrenaline would last long enough for them to reach the tower.

"I think we ought to, yes. On three?" Sirius was grinning madly, and the mood was infectious as Remus felt himself grin as well.

Remus nodded, taking a deep breath, and the moment Sirius shouted three both boys leaped out from behind the statues, firing jinxes into the crowd. Sirius took off first, laughing and firing spells back over his shoulder. Remus waited until the Slytherins drew closer to the statues, aimed his wand, and took another deep breath.

"_Reducto!_"

The spell struck the floor with a roaring sound that knocked Remus back several feet and filled his vision with red light. Vaguely he was aware of hands tugging on his shirt, pulling him back upright, and there was the smell of dust and smoke and the sound of swearing and shouting from behind. Sirius' mouth was moving, grey eyes glowing, but Remus' ears were still ringing and he heard no actual words. Instead he simply followed Sirius onward, to the end of the narrow corridor and out into a wider hall. Chancing a glance back, Remus barely had time to dodge a blue flare of light that would have struck him in the chest.

"Sirius, I think they're still following us!"

"I had noticed that!" Sirius dashed around the corner and Remus followed seconds after. Suddenly red hair and wide eyes filled his vision, and then Remus crashed headlong into Gideon Prewett. Momentum sent them rolling across the floor, landing sprawled in a heap at the top of another set of stairs. Nearby lay Sirius and Fabian, apparently having suffered a very similar collision. Remus groaned and rolled onto his back, fumbling for his wand and trying to ignore the sudden flare of pain as his shoulder and knee protested the movement. Gideon was swearing, and so was Sirius, but Remus only paid attention to the sound of running feet as Snape and his gang closed in.


	3. The Best Laid Plans

A/N - So this chapter sort of exploded on me, and is far longer than I originally planned, but hey, that's alright. And I still own none of these characters, but I sure love writing them! Anyways, onto the story.

* * *

Kingsley seemed to brighten considerably when James caught up to him, and led the way back up the stairs. Instead of walking back to Ravenclaw tower, as James had originally expected to do, Kingsley seemed to be heading in the general direction of the library. The hallway had fallen utterly silent, interrupted occasionally by snores from one of the portraits. James was therefore quite clearly able to hear shouts and bangs and running footsteps from somewhere above. Kingsley frowned and glanced up at the ceiling.

"What do you suppose that was?"

James had a fairly good idea that the cause of the noise was in one way or another Sirius Black, but decided not to share that particular idea.

"Dunno. We close yet?"

"Just ahead," Kingsley motioned with his wand, tossing a wobbly ray of light in the general direction of a door. The whisper of magic passed through the air and the door swung open in answer. James sincerely hoped there was not a broom cupboard on the other side. Kingsley entered first, waving to someone, and then James followed, shutting the door behind him. The meeting place turned out to be an empty classroom, long unused judging by the amount of dust that had settled on the desks. Frank Longbottom, currently in the middle of another growth spurt, stumbled over his own feet as he stood.

"Hullo James."

"'lo Frank," James shook the other Gryffindor's hand, slightly startled by the fact that Frank now stood an inch or two taller. At this rate, James would be the shortest boy in his year. The thought was unpleasant, and something of the feeling must have showed on his face because Frank's smile faltered abruptly.

"You alright?"

"Just fine," James said, forcing a grin back into place. The only other person in the room remained seated on the floor, black and yellow tie around his head and face in a deep scowl.

"Potter."

"Bones."

For a moment, James and Edmund simply glared at each other. Although his mood had improved, James had always been perfectly willing to hex anyone who decided to give him trouble. And Edmund Bones had never exactly become any sort of friend to James. Kingsley, however, stepped between the two of them, and the tension in the air vanished as though someone had broken a spell.

"He's going to help us out Ed."

"Don't need his help," Edmund grumbled, rising to his feet and wiping the dust from his pants. "Two of them and three of us."

"I thought it would be a good idea. He's backup," Kingsley said coldly. The tone left no room for argument, and Edmund shrugged and stared pointedly at the floor. Kingsley now turned his attention back to James.

"That is of course, if you still want to."

"Oh. Oh yeah, I do. No worries," James answered. "I do have to ask though, why are we in this classroom?"

"It was the first open room we found," Frank explained, face rapidly turning a bright shade of red. Which likely meant that when Frank said "we", he meant that he had found the room himself. James never understood why Frank disliked taking credit. "We just decided to all meet back here."

James nodded in understanding and choked back a sneeze as a cloud of dust decided to take up residence in his nose.

"So...so what now?"

"They were heading down the stairs," Edmund seemed suddenly more interested, and James guessed he had been the one following the strangers. "Either the dungeons or toward the Defense corridor."

"That's two pretty big areas," Kingsley frowned. "And we've only got four people."

Once again James wished he had brought the map along. If nothing else, at least he would be able to see the names of whoever he and the other boys were about to go chasing through the castle. Some of the Death Eaters that had been in the Prophet sounded rather nasty, and James did not really care for the thought of being killed in anything but a noble and heroic fashion.

"There's no way out of the dungeons, or at least, only one way," Frank mused. James could not recall whether or not the statement was in fact true. He was almost sure there was a secret passage that linked up with the charms corridor, but Remus would be the one who knew and he was not exactly available for questioning.

"I think it's a better bet that they went to the Defense corridor," James declared. Kingsley and Frank looked curious, Edmund still looked incredibly annoyed. "I'm just saying, there's two ways out of the Defense corridor, and one way out of the dungeons. If they are Death Eaters, they wouldn't want to get trapped with no exit."

"I think you've got a point," Kingsley agreed, pointing to James and nodding. "We'll got there first then. Then even if they are in the dungeons, we have a chance to cut them off."

"Brilliant," Frank grinned, the red finally fading from his face. "We ought to split up in pairs, cut off both exits."

"That's actually a pretty good idea," James said, sending Frank's face into a brilliant shade of crimson once more. Edmund however scowled even more deeply at this.

"I'm not going with Potter."

"Afraid I'll have to rescue you Bones?"

"More like I'm worried you'll be too busy messing with your hair to actually be of any use."

"I'm beginning to think that tie around your head is damaging your ability to think."

"Least I've got an excuse."

James' wand was out in an instant, the air crackling between himself and Edmund as both boys glared at each other. Kingsley sighed and stepped between them once more, shoving Edmund toward the door with one hand.

"You'll go with me. James can go with Frank. Let's try and be quiet and professional about this people."

"Kingsley, you do realize that we're a bunch of sixteen year old wizards who haven't even taken any O.W.L.s yet?" Edmund asked. His face was cast into the shadow by the door, but even so James would swear the boy's face had abruptly shifted to a grin.

"I had begun to notice that," Kingsley agreed. "Move."

Without another word, Edmund vanished into the corridor, light from his wand spilling through the opening he had left behind. Kingsley opened the door a bit wider, raising his own wand as he did, then turned over his shoulder to face James and Frank once more.

"We'll take the north end of the corridor. You've got the south."

James nodded eagerly, and Frank gave a thumbs up, and then Kingsley vanished into the hallway. James glanced over his partner, at Frank's too-big hands and clumsy feet that tangled every time he walked. For a moment James had an irrational fear that Frank would more of a hindrance than anything else. Then he caught a fiercely determined look in the other boy's eyes, a look James knew was reflected in his won. Perhaps Frank Longbottom would turn out to be helpful after all.

"All set?" 

"Absolutely," Frank tugged his wand out of his pocket. "Lead the way."

James swung the door wide, lighting his wand and and chasing away the remaining shadows. Frank shut the door with a dull thud, then lit his wand as well.

"Just out of curiosity, what sort of career you looking at?" James asked, trying to get his bearings and determine which way would take them to the Defense corridor quickest. Finally he settled for a quick compass charm, and when he looked up Frank seemed to be embarrassed again, eyes on the floor.

"An Auror, actually. I know it sort of surprises people, but I-"

"I think you'd be a good Auror," James cut him off mid sentence with a wave and a cheery grin. Frank positively beamed in answer.

"Thanks."

There was a pause as the two boys stood awkwardly, James' wand spinning in his hand.

"What about you?" Frank asked. "What do you want to do?"

"An Auror," James admitted. He and Sirius had discussed the prospect several times, and had tried to convince Remus to consider the Auror department as well. Catching dark wizards sounded exciting and useful and like bloody good fun. "Professional Quidditch is my backup."

Frank laughed at this, and the charm finally worked as James' wand halted, pointing south.

"Well, I'm sure you'll make a great Auror. Guess we'd be working together even."

A chill danced down James' spin, but he ignored the feeling and grinned, saluting Frank with his wand.

"Here's to a long and illustrious career, then. We'll be the terror of dark wizards everywhere."

"Here here."

Frank returned the salute, albeit with a wobbly smile, and the two Gryffindors wandered into the darkness, searching for Death Eaters in the castle.

* * *

Gideon Prewett, Remus discovered, was apparently the worst possible person to crash into at high rates of speed. Unless of course the intention of said crashing was to cause as much pain and injury imaginable, and in that case Gideon was an excellent choice. Based on the muttered sound of Sirius swearing, the other Prewett twin had not proved much softer. Fumbling for his wand, Remus rolled onto his back, ignoring the sudden protest that seemed to be coming from his shoulder and knee.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Fabian demanded from somewhere underneath Sirius.

"We were running," Sirius explained. "Away. And you seem to have quite effectively stopped our escape."

"Your what?" Gideon looked positively confused, hands prodding his nose gingerly. "I think you've broken my nose Remus."

Remus was presently struggling to regain his feet, his right knee greatly resisting his efforts, and therefore had little to no sympathy for Gideon Prewett's nose.

"It looks fine. Sirius we ought to get moving."

Sirius, however, had seated himself cross-legged on the floor, sullenly pointing his wand toward Fabian. Sensing an impending interrogation as to whether or not the Prewetts were in league with the Slytherins, Remus grabbed Sirius by the shoulder and tugged him to his feet. The movement nearly propelled them both down the stairs.

"Wherever you're going," Gideon said, standing now.

"We probably should come," Fabian concluded. "We were heading back to the common room anyway."

"And the Slytherins don't look too happy to see us," Gideon pointed past Remus shoulder, where he guessed a gang of red and gold Slytherins were dashing towards them. For the time being he was willing to ignore the twins' disturbing habits of finishing each others' sentences, instead prodding Sirius forward with one hand and motioning for the other boys to follow. The stairs proved a challenge for Remus and his injured knee, pain flaring with each step. A spell whizzed just over his head, leaving a smear of smoke and dust on the wall. Thankful for the spectacularly bad aim but unwilling to press his luck by stopping to heal his knee, Remus kept running. Sirius had taken the lead now, wand lit and guiding the way. Gideon and Fabian, both apparently uninjured by the previous collision, were jogging behind Remus and firing back at the crowd of pursuers.

"Get back here Lupin! Black!" the unmistakable voice of Severus Snape shouted over the noise, and Remus spun on his heel. Still jogging backwards and trying desperately not to fall, he scanned the mob, counting seven Slytherins at least. A red faced Snape was in the lead, though Remus was unsure if the color had resulted from anger or Sirius' jinx. Either way, just before Snape could fire another spell, Remus raised his own wand.

"_Expelliarmus_!"

The jinx hit Snape in the face, throwing him back several feet and into his crowd of followers. Satisfied and grinning triumphantly to himself, Remus reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the next corridor. Fortunately, Sirius was plainly lit by the glow of his wand, and Remus was able to avoid a second collision.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not entirely sure which way to go," Sirius admitted with a frown. "My abysmal sense of direction has failed us again."

"Why in Merlin's name did I let myself be dragged into this?" Remus asked mournfully.

"Don't drag Merlin into this Moony, you should have brought the map," Sirius said matter of factly. Remus very nearly hit him. The Prewett twins arrived just in time to provide enough witnesses that Remus managed to refrain.

"Why are we stopping?" Gideon glanced back over his shoulder, where the Slytherins were stumbling down the stairs at great speed.

"Sirius doesn't know where we are," Remus said stiffly.

Choosing this moment to be offended, Sirius glared at Remus and then waved his wand to the right.

"Not true. I think it's this way."

Fabian seemed quite ready to sprint away, and Remus realized caught sight of a scorch mark down one side of the boy's freckled face. The Slytherins apparently meant business. Gideon however seemed less convinced, eyeing the passage to the left.

"I dunno Sirius, I think it's this way."

The noise on the stairs grew louder, and Remus swallowed hard and prepared to face a very angry Severus Snape.

"Why don't we split up?" Fabian suggested, still facing the stairs.

"It'd throw off our dear Slytherin friends," Gideon agreed.

"Although really whoever changed their colors-"

"Deserves a reward of some sort."

"Stop that," Sirius said firmly. Apparently Remus was not the only one bothered by the twins' conversational practices. "I did it. I would take a bow but that would not be in the best interest of my personal well-being. You can shake my hand later."

"I'll keep that in mind," Fabian grinned. "I'm going this way." He pointed toward the corridor to the right, which Sirius had indicated.

"I suppose this is where we part ways Moony," Sirius sighed dramatically. Remus decided at that point that Sirius was enjoying all of this far too much. In fact, this sort of incident had probably been his plan all along.

"As much as it pains me to abandon Fabian with you," Remus said. "Please try not to get him maimed."

"What if I never see you again?" Sirius had already started walking backward, wearing his best attempt at a concerned face. Remus doubted whether Sirius had ever actually been concerned in his life, because the expression always looked more like he had eaten something unpleasant.

"Then I will consider myself a lucky, lucky soul," Remus answered firmly. "And I will likely get into far fewer messes like this."

Sirius stuck his tongue out at that, then barked out a laugh and loped away after Fabian, who had already vanished down the corridor.

And so Remus found himself following Gideon Prewett through dark and empty corridors, the echo of shouts and footsteps and furious spells never far behind. He was beginning to think the Slytherins had assembled a small army. His knee positively throbbing now, Remus deflected another spell into a suit of armor and very nearly burst into tears of joy when Gideon tugged open the door to a classroom. Sliding inside, Remus kicked the door shut and waved his wand in the general direction of the lock.

"_Colloportus!_"

Gideon's spell hit the door at the same time, and the lock glowed with a sudden bright light. Both boys sank to the floor, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily as they listened to the footsteps outside fade away. Breathless and red faced, both boys cast sideways glances at each other, slow grins spreading across their faces. Remus shut his eyes and pressed his head against the wall and his wand against his knee, murmuring a healing charm. The injured muscle went cold, the numb entirely, but Remus did not dare test the strength of the spell work just yet. Instead he concentrated on persuading his heart to stop trying to explode out of his chest. As soon as Remus managed to catch his breath and feel confident in his ability to form words, he wearily turned toward his companion.

"If we get out of this, I think I'm going to kill you Prewett."

Gideon looked faintly incredulous at this, and took another deep breath before answering.

"How in Merlin's name is this my fault?" 

"We were escaping," Remus put special emphasis on the word escape, to enforce the fact that he and Sirius had nearly been clear of their pursuers. "And then you bloody well jumped out of nowhere."

"I didn't jump out of nowhere. You two did. We were walking back from the library," Gideon said defensively.

"You and Fabian were at the library?"

"We are N.E.W.T. students. We do deign to study some of the time."

Stiff silence followed, and Remus wondered if he ought to apologize. Technically speaking, this was all Sirius' fault, if anyone's. But instead Gideon spoke again, once more prodding at his nose.

"You'll be happy to know I don't think my nose is broken."

"I was gravely concerned. Although at least everyone would be able to tell you two apart," Remus pointed out with a smile. "You are Gideon, aren't you?"

Gideon shrugged and nodded.

"As far as I know. Course, we couldn't make it easy on people. I'd have to break Fabian's nose as well, just so we'd match."

"I'm sure he'd appreciate that," Remus winced at the thought.

"He'd probably ask me to do it," Gideon laughed, shutting his eyes. "It's my sister I'd have to watch out for."

Remus had not been at school when Molly Prewett attended Hogwarts, but he had heard enough about her to know that Gideon was probably right. He let the matter drop, instead finally turning his attention to the room where they had taken shelter.

"Is this the Defense classroom?"

Gideon opened one eye slowly.

"Look's like it, yeah. Guess Professor Kirk must be out, or he'd have come running at all the noise."

Professor Tiberius Kirk had at one point been a very successful Auror, but had for reasons unknown to Remus decided to retire. This had been his first year teaching at Hogwarts, and Kirk was a favorite among all the students. Half the boys in the school were now determined to become Aurors, half the girls were in love with Kirk's dashing good looks, and Remus, for his part, had decided he wanted to teach. Hopefully the jinx on the Defense position really was a rumor, because Remus knew he would not be the only one sad to see Professor Kirk leave.

"You in any hurry to get out of here, or do you mind if we just wait awhile?" Gideon asked, breaking Remus' train of thought entirely.

"Hmm? Oh, no. I don't mind. My lungs seem to be protesting all this running anyway," Remus shrugged. Gideon grinned slightly at this, and then went entirely silent, and Remus was left wondering how precisely he had managed to get himself into such a mess.

* * *

Fortunately, Rosier and Nott did not seemed bound for anyplace particularly far away, because Peter would swear that the passage he was presently following them down led to a dead end. There was a broom cupboard at this dead end, if he recalled correctly, and a door that opened into the trophy room, but no place particularly interesting. Joanna had remained entirely silent the entire time, and although he could not see her face Peter imagine she must still look frightened. After all, he was only following the three of them, and he was a bit frightened.

They reached the dead end that Peter had predicted, a door on either side of the hallway but no statue convenient enough to hide behind. There was, however, an alcove set into the wall where something large had once been displayed, and Peter quickly scurried into the shadows. Somewhere in the direction of one of the doors, a lock clicked and hinges squealed, and Peter could smell polish and metal. The trophy room then, that's where Joanna was being taken. Moving slowly to ensure he remained unseen, Peter leaned around the wall to watch whatever was about to happen.

A pale hand reached out into the hallway, grabbing Joanna's wrist and pulling her forward. Peter still could not see her face, but he thought he heard some small sound from her as she vanished through the door. Whoever belonged to the pale hand held the door open a moment longer.

"Nobody in or out until I say so."

The polished tone sounded vaguely familiar, but Peter could not for the life of him recall where he had heard the voice before. The door slammed shut, and Rosier and Nott grinned at each other and took position on either side, effectively barring the entrance. Peter pulled back into the alcove, heart pounding and far more frightened than he was willing to admit. He simply had to do something, but he was badly outnumbered and had no James or Sirius or Remus to help him. His mind raced, desperately looking for possibilities. Neither Rosier or Nott suspected that they had been followed, so Peter at least had surprise on his side. An idea half-formed in his mind, and Peter acted quickly before he could talk himself out of doing anything too mental.

With a pop that was louder than he would have liked, Peter returned to himself once more, wand clutched in one sweaty hand. A quick peek around the wall determined that Rosier and Nott were still quietly standing guard, having heard nothing. Nott stood closer to the alcove, and Peter pressed himself against the wall and pointed his wand in what he hoped was the right direction.

"_Stupefy._"

The spell must have worked, because then there was a surprised yell from Rosier as Nott toppled over and fell, knocking them both into a heap on the floor. Peter dashed out from his hiding place, Rosier's eyes widening with recognition.

"Pettigrew!

Before Rosier could retrieve his wand, Peter had cast a Body Bind curse, and the Slytherin went stiff as a board.

"_Incarcerous._"

With both the boys stunned, Peter tied them up and levitated them into the broom closet, sealing the door shut for good measure. Now only one obstacle remained, and that obstacle happened to be a locked door. A locked door that someone had sealed magically as well, Peter discovered, when his spell failed to open the lock. At a loss for what to do otherwise, Peter began pounding on the door.

"What's going on out there?" the same polished tone demanded.

"There's ah...someone's...someone's tried to get in. We think you ought to come have a look," Peter winced at his own impersonation of Terrence Nott. The effort seemed to fool whoever waited on the other side of the door however, as the lock clicked and the magic on the door faded. Peter levelled his wand and fired a stunner as soon as the door cracked open, aiming at the sight of a pale face that had been about to speak. Whoever had been trying to open the door flew backward and landed with a crash, and Peter dashed into the room. Joanna Dearborn was seated on the floor, looking quite stunned, but Peter motioned for her to be quiet. Any good rescuer always made sure the villain was safely disposed of, and Peter intended to do just that. In a jumbled heap of trophies and shelves lay a boy with a pale face and black hair. Very familiar black hair. And high cheekbones. And Peter swore as he realized that he had just stunned Regulus Black.

Hoping the spell would hold, Peter raced back to the middle of the room and grabbed Joanna by the wrist.

"Come on, we've got to get you out of here!"

Joanna seemed to be about to protest, but Peter tugged her forward anyway. He raised his wand to light the way, quickly finding the second door that led into an open corridor. Peter paused long enough to grin triumphantly, feeling very pleased with himself. Then he heard the echo of yelling and the snap of spells and panic seized him once more as he pulled Joanna along the corridor. Somehow he seemed to be running toward the noise, but that could not be right, because he had left Nott and Rosier and Regulus all quite stunned. Racing between two statues, Peter very nearly missed the flicker of red to his left. More than slightly surprised, Peter halted instantly, backing up a few steps to find himself face to face with one of the Prewett twins.

"Wormtail?"

Peter spun to find Sirius Black standing behind him, hair disheveled and eyes bright, both likely signs that serious trouble had either been caused or found. Idly Peter wondered if this meant he won the contest.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked, tilting his head to one side.

"Oh," Peter released his grip on Joanna's wrist, his face suddenly going hot. "Well you see, we went looking for you, only we split up, and I got sidetracked because I saw Joanna being dragged off by Rosier and Nott. And so I meant to keep looking for you, I did , but I figured I ought to help her, and you'll never believe it Sirius but I had to stun your brother, and I'm very sorry but -"

The rush of words halted abruptly as a hand connected with his face with an impressive amount of force, and Peter found himself staggering backwards. Fabian (at least he thought it was Fabian) caught him, and Peter first looked to Sirius, who looked to be rather baffled, and then to Joanna, whose shock had quite worn off. One of her hands was still raised, and Peter suspected he would have a handprint on his face that would identify her as his attacker. Which really made very little sense, she ought to be thanking him, he reckoned, since he had rescued her and all. But for some reason she just seemed upset.

"You absolute idiot!" Joanna clenched her hands into fists and Peter winced in spite of himself. "I didn't need rescuing! Regulus is my boyfriend!"

"What?" Sirius and Peter reacted at the same time, though Sirius looked more amused than anything. Peter felt rather confident that his present feeling could be best identified as abject horror.

"It's a secret, and we can't meet up all the time, so he sends some of his friends to get me and makes them keep a look out!" Joanna was still raving.

"Oh dear," Peter murmured, feeling faintly ill and very much wishing that he had refused to leave the common room at all.


	4. An Easy Mistake

A/N - So I should probably mention that I'm moving into my dorm tomorrow, and the remainder of the week will be spent in various freshmen activities. I definitely know how this story will end, and currently there's one more chapter in the works. I'm just not entirely sure when I'll be able to post said chapter. Rest assured, any free time where I can get hold of my laptop, I'll be hard at work (I do after all have to get our heroes back to the tower), and I promise I'll post as soon as I can. I'm aiming for Sunday at the latest, and you can check my livejournal for updates and progress and such. For now, here's another rather long chapter for you to enjoy!

* * *

The route to the south end of the defense corridor happened to be a largely uphill trek involving numerous staircases. Fortunately, Frank only managed to fall up the steps twice, and both times he caught himself on the railing. There was much blushing and apologizing, but James finally persuaded him to be quiet once more. Somewhere nearby he could hear feet running on stone and the bang and snap of spells. Whether Death Eaters or Sirius Black, the noise kept James on edge, far too eager to run into trouble.

"What if they went to the dungeons?" Frank whispered. "Or if Ed and Kingsley already found them?"

The idea had been bothering James himself for quite some time, especially the thought that Edmund Bones would take all the credit for capturing a pair of Death Eaters. James gritted his teeth and very nearly suggested that they cut through a side hall and check the dungeons, just to be safe. At that moment, however, he caught sight of two shadows, darker than the rest of the hallway, moving and whispering. Adrenaline fired through James almost instantly, and he grinned at Frank.

"They didn't. They're here."

Frank looked like he was about to respond, his face pale and jaw set, but James motioned for him to stay quiet. Easing his way into the shadows against the wall, sincerely hoping they had remained unnoticed, James doused the light from his wand and held his breath. Frank waited a moment and then did the same, bending to hide behind a low statue, his face cast into shadow. James took one step, then two, and when he was certain the two figures down the hall were paying no attention he quickened his pace. To his credit, Frank moved just as silently, all trace of clumsiness vanished, and the two boys paused again behind a suit of armor, James pressed against the cold metal and Frank barely inches behind. Frank pointed with his wand toward a marble bust of a bearded wizard, barely waiting for James to nod in understanding before dashing away and sliding to the floor behind the figure.

James decided that if the two figures were Death Eaters, they were horrendously unobservant. Taking another breath and then dashing forward once more, James finally came within range to hear their whispered conversation, crouching inside a small alcove in the wall.

"Pretty nice job, the security they've got."

"Naturally. Dumbledore knows what he's doing, but I'm not sure if he really believes there's a threat."

"Think anyone else could get through?"

"We got through didn't we?"

"Suppose you've got a point."

Both of the strangers were in fact wizards, judging by their voices, one that spoke high and clear and the other in a gravelly tone. Stopping in front of a door, one of the wizards bent to open the lock with his wand, the other standing with his hands in his pockets. James took a deep breath, straightened his glasses, and stepped out from the alcove. Heart racing, he moved to the middle of the hall and levelled his wand at the back of the nearest wizard. Frank watched him with wide eyes but made no movement, staying entirely still. A moment passed, then two, and the shot remained clear, but before James could utter a spell, light flared at the end of the opposite end corridor. James could just make out the dark shape of Kingsley Shacklebolt and the yellow tie around Edmund Bones' head on the far side of the two cloaked men. Frank swore spectacularly and James felt himself yanked backwards behind a statue before anyone could see them.

"Who are you?" Edmund demanded, sounding slightly unnerved. James wondered if the light itself was shaking or if Edmund's arm happened to be trembling.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" the gravely voiced wizard demanded. He had raised his own wand now, the hood of his cloak falling back and revealing a mess of scars on one side of his face. James shuddered and had to agree with Kingsley. The man certainly looked the part of a Death Eater. Edmund never answered, and neither did Kingsley. This seemed to annoy the already thin patience of the scarred man, and despite protest from his companion his wand glowed suddenly red. Panic seized James, panic not for himself but for Kingsley and Edmund, and without pausing to think he leaped out from behind the bust, a second too quickly for Frank to grab him.

"Oi! Look over here!"

The scarred wizard spun far quicker than James had expected, and he dove to the floor to avoid the jet of red light that sailed through the air. Fortunately, Frank chose that moment to come to stage his own attack

"_Expelliarmus!"_

The spell caught the scarred wizard in the chest, sending him reeling backwards and into his companion. James rolled onto his stomach and steadied his wand arm.

"_Stupefy!" _James roared, striking both wizards at once and sending them crashing back into the door they had been trying to open. Neither wizard moved again, and Frank hauled James back to his feet.

"Nice shot."

"You too. Now let's see who they were."

James tucked his wand into his pocket and approached the two wizards slumped against the door, grinning proudly and envisioning the awards he would be receiving for this. Already kneeling beside the two strangers, Kingsley glanced up at James and smiled.

"I suppose I should say thank you."

"Don't worry about it," James shrugged. "I'm sure I'll save your life a few more times, you'll save mine a couple, and we'll call it even."

"Alright," Kingsley laughed, reaching for the hood of the nearest wizard. Before he could reveal the man's face, however, the lock of the door clicked open. Senses once again sharp and alert, James sprang back, pulling Kingsley with him and flourishing his wand. The door swung inward, the limp bodies of the two wizards falling backward and landing at the feet of a very surprised looking Remus Lupin. To his left was Gideon Prewett, appearing equally as stunned. James lowered his wand halfway.

"Moony?"

Remus, however, seemed far more concerned with the two wizards at his feet.

"My dear Prongs, I do believe you've hexed a teacher."

* * *

Gideon's snoring turned out to be even louder than Peter usually managed, which was an impressive feat. The noise unfortunately prevented Remus from sleeping at all, and thus he found himself practicing color changing charms in a desperate bid for entertainment. His knee had stopped aching, which was either a very good or bad sign, depending on how much he trusted his own work, and he had long since lost track of the time. Not that late nights were anything unusual, for Marauders in general and Remus in particular. But all the running and fighting had rather drained him, even more so once the adrenaline had worn off, and now Remus very much wanted to be comfortably asleep in his own bed.

He had just been starting to doze again, drifting off with methods of revenging himself on Sirius dancing through his head, when footsteps echoed down the corridor once more. Instantly the pulsing flow of adrenaline returned, and Remus snatched up his wand and shook Gideon.

"Wuzzamatter?" Gideon blinked rapidly, his eyes bleary as he fumbled for his own wand.

"Someone's coming back," Remus whispered. "Listen."

On the outside of the door, the footsteps grew louder, voices now accompanying them.

"Pretty nice job, the security they've got."

"Naturally. Dumbledore knows what he's doing, but I'm not sure if he really believes there's a threat."

"Suppose anyone else can get through?"

"We got through didn't we?"

"Suppose you've got a point."

Two wizards, then, now stood in the hallway, much older than any of the Slytherins judging by the sound of them. Remus thought he recognized one of the voices, but the other was sharp and rough and utterly unknown.

"Who are they?" Gideon murmured, sliding in front of the door and raising himself to eye level with the key hole. Remus crouched down beside him, wand at the ready.

"Dunno. The one fellow sounds familiar though."

"It's Professor Kirk, I think."

Remus tried to recall Professor Kirk's last lecture on the value of security charms and had to admit, the voices did sound rather similar.

"But whose the other one?"

Gideon slid away from the door, motioning to the key hole with one hand.

"They're facing the door now, take a look."

Slowly, careful not to jar his injured knee, Remus slipped in front of the door, pressing one hand to the wall and one eye to the key hole. Only the darkness of the corridor appeared at first, slowly joined by the shifting, lighter shapes that must have been Professor Kirk and his companion.

"What're we going to do when he opens the door and finds us in here?" Gideon asked.

"I was thinking something along the lines of 'Merlin, this isn't the common room,'" Remus murmured dryly.

Gideon choked back a laugh and shook his head.

"I'm sure that will work marvelously."

"Have you got a better idea?" Remus arched an eyebrow at his redheaded companion. Gideon paused for a moment, feigning deep thought, but whatever he had been preparing to say was lost as someone shouted in the corridor.

"Who are you?"

Light spilled across the hall in waves, illuminating the faces of Professor Kirk and a very scarred man. Both of them looked rather surprised.

"I think I've seen that fellow in the papers," Remus murmured, still watching through the keyhole. Gideon tried to shove him out of the way, and after a brief scuffle Remus held his position. "I think he's an Auror."

"That would explain why he's wandering about with Kirk," Gideon agreed. "Though I'm slightly more curious about who's accosting two Aurors in a dark corridor."

If Remus had not known any better, he would have said the bright idea had likely been concocted by James and Sirius.

"I can't see who it is, they're too far to the side."

"Why don't you let me have a look," Gideon tugged on his shoulder, and Remus found himself once more defending the keyhole as the scarred Auror demanded to know the identity of the newcomers.

"Will you stop it?" Remus insisted, holding Gideon at bay with an arm and a foot.

Gideon sulked and retreated to the far side of the door, where he continued to cast wishful looks at the keyhole but otherwise let the matter drop. Remus gave the boy a tight smile and then returned his watch to the hallway, just as the scarred Auror raised his wand.

"Oi! Look over here!"

Remus felt his heart skip a beat or three. Dark corridor or no, he would recognize the voice of James Potter anywhere. Especially when James' voice sounded like he was about to do something recklessly brave.

"Was that Potter?" Gideon abandoned his sulking and sprang to his feet.

"I think it was," Remus hauled himself upright as well, just two bangs echoed in the hallway. Someone who was not James cast a disarming spell, and then James himself shouted a stunner that sent both Professor Kirk and his Auror friend crashing into the door with a thud. Remus swore spectacularly as the weight of the two wizards held the door in place.

"This could be a problem," Gideon muttered. "Could we charm it to open the other way?"

"I'm sure we could," Remus sighed, running a hand through his already messy hair. "Let's take a look."

Light from the hallway spilled under the door as three voices started speaking in hushed tones. Remus was far too preoccupied trying to charm the door hinges to bother identifying anyone beyond James. The first two attempts at the spell nearly melted the hinges entirely, but Gideon managed to think of a counter and the hinges clicked back into place.

"That ought to work."

"Good to hear. _Alohomora._" Remus pointed his wand at the lock, undoing the seals that he and Gideon had thrown at the door earlier. The door handle turned easily in his hand, and Remus took a deep breath and prepared himself before pulling the door open. The preparation was likely a good idea, as the moment he opened the door Professor Kirk and the scarred man tumbled inwards and landed at his feet. The effect was highly disconcerting, and Remus had a faint concern that the stunners had done serious damage. James' shocked voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"Moony?"

Remus gave a wan smile but kept his eyes on the adults that lay sprawled on the floor.

"My dear Prongs, I do believe you've hexed a teacher."

"I did not!" James protested, shoving forward past two other students who Remus recognized as Frank Longbottom and Kingsley Shacklebolt. A very put out looking Edmund Bones lurked off to one side. "Oh bloody hell."

James suddenly went as pale and still as though he had been stunned himself, staring down at the face of Professor Kirk.

"We thought...Kingsley said he thought there were Death Eaters in the castle..."

Remus raised an eyebrow at the Ravenclaw in question, and Kingsley shifted from side to side, very pointedly looking at the floor.

"We saw them...they do look suspiscious...and that fellow, he's not a teacher."

Frank Longbottom leaned over the two wizards now, face an alarming shade of red and wand quivering in one hand by his side.

"Oh Merlin. That's Alastor Moody. He's a friend of my mum and dad's. Oh Merlin."

Based on his reaction, Remus guessed that Frank had been the one to cast the initial disarming spell. The whole scene, for some reason, seemed ridiculously funny, and Remus found himself fighting not to laugh. Frank and James and Kingsley all looked quite miserable, after all, and laughing would do no good. Not at present, anyway. Remus stored the moment away to revisit later, when he was in need of a humorous story.

"What you suppose we ought to do with them?" Edmund spoke finally, edging closer to the little group around the door.

"If by we, you mean you four, I suggest you get them moved," Gideon frowned. "Remus and I are innocent bystanders."

James frowned now, looking from Gideon to Remus perplexedly.

"What exactly are you two doing anyway?"

Remus briefly recalled the night's events in his mind, tapping his wand against his leg thoughtfully.

"Escaping. From Slytherins. Who were chasing Sirius."

"Why were they chasing Sirius?" James asked, bending to help Frank lift the motionless body of Alastor Moody. Remus paused, having not really given that particular matter much thought, save to acknowledge the spectacular coloring of the Slytherins.

"Let's just say that red and gold Slytherins are very funny, a gang of very angry red and gold Slytherins chasing you through the castle is not."

James' mouth formed an 'o' and he nodded in understanding, dropping Moody at the foot of the stairs that led up to Kirk's office. Kingsley and Edmund had the duty of carrying the professor himself.

"Up to the office you think?" Kingsley asked, looking first to Remus, who shrugged as nonchalantly as he could manage, and then to James.

"Guess we might as well," James shrugged, bending to lift Moody once more. Gideon took a seat on top of Kirk's desk and Remus joined him, perfectly content to watch the odd procession. Slowly the boys climbed the stairs, Moody and Kirk in tow. Frank slipped once, tripping over his own feet, and would have dropped Moody the Auror entirely had James not reacted with impressive speed. Murmuring apologies, Frank kicked open the door to the office, and three by three they vanished inside.

"This is turning out to be an interesting evening," Gideon yawned.

"Far too interesting for my taste," Remus muttered, waving in answer to James' grin as the messy haired boy returned from the office.

"Got them both propped up nice in some chairs. They'll have a right headache when they wake up, but that ought to be alright."

Remus could not imagine that two Aurors, even one retired, would be particularly happy with the chain of events, but chose not to argue the point.

"How exactly did you manage to surprise them?"

"We had them distracted," Kingsley appeared at the top of the stairs. "Not deliberately, mind you, but it worked just as well."

Frank descended the stairs quickly, looking painfully anxious and eager to be very far away. Edmund Bones exited the office last, shutting the door behind him.

"They saw us, you know. Me and Kingsley at least. And I'll bet you Kirk will recognize it was Potter and Longbottom who stunned them."

No one seemed to have considered this possibility, and Frank's face abruptly went ghastly pale.

"If my mum finds out about this, she'll murder me."

"Come on Frank, don't be so dramatic," James clapped an arm around Frank's shoulder. Remus recognized the look on Frank's face as one that was usually adopted when trying very hard not to punch someone. "We could always do a memory charm," James added cheerfully.

Gideon, who had been struggling to keep quiet for several minutes now, now burst out in laughter, clutching his stomach and very nearly falling off the desk.

"You've already hexed them, by all means. Charm their memories! I'm sure that'll go smashingly."

Remus bit his lip in an effort to keep from laughing as well, but to no avail. James and the others who had been in the corridor glared sullenly as Remus and Gideon roared with laughter from their perch on the desk. After a moment or two, Remus managed to calm himself, wiping his eyes and pointing towards the door.

"Maybe we should just go. Before any more expulsion worthy offenses are committed."

There was a general murmur of assent at this, and the boys filed into procession toward the door, James in the lead as usual. Gideon, still snickering, excited last, shutting and locking the door behind him.

"Well," Kingsley ran a hand over his hair, still taking great interest in the state of the floor. "Well I think I'll get to the tower. Sorry about um..all of this."

"Easy mistake," Frank shrugged, and glanced to Edmund and James for support. James did indeed nod in agreement, Edmund merely yawned and pushed past Remus and Gideon.

"I'm getting to bed as well," Edmund announced. "Goodnight everyone."

James glowered at Edmund' retreating back, and Remus worried for a moment that another fight would break out momentarily. With a deep sigh, however, James turned and waved to Kingsley instead. The two boys strode away in opposite directions, leaving only the four Gryffindors in the dark corridor. Frank spoke first, already nervous and eager to be back in the common room. Not that Remus especially blamed him, given the circumstances.

"Guess we should get back too then?"

James shrugged noncommittally and gestured in the general direction of Gryffindor Tower.

"You can go if you want. I've got to find Sirius before the Slytherins get hold of him."

"Oh, er, alright, ah Gideon?" Frank floundered for words and the look he gave Gideon positively begged for an ally. Gideon shook his head and pointed to James.

"My brother's with Black."

Frank turned his pleading look on Remus, and although sorely tempted to leave, Remus shook his head as well.

"I've been out looking for Sirius all night. I'll drag him back if I have to."

James seemed highly pleased with this, grinning cheerily at the little band of rescuers he had amassed. Of course, one of the rescuers looked highly unhappy to have been drafted, but Frank shrugged and raised his wand.

"Suppose I'm with you then."

"Brilliant," James said. "Now, does anyone have any idea where they are?"

Remus was struck by a sudden sense of horror (a frequent happening this evening, that horrified feeling, he noted) at the realization that by this time Sirius and Fabian could be positively anywhere in the castle. James waited for a reply, and when none came his grin faded slightly but still stayed impressively eager.

"Not to worry, we'll just keep a lookout for wherever the most noise is coming from."

And with no further words, James strode off down the corridor, wand held aloft to light the way, Frank stumbling along a few feet behind. Gideon looked to still be somewhere between amused and concerned, pausing every few steps to control his laughter. Remus himself resisted an urge to swear out loud, ran both hands through his hair, and then followed James and the others. He managed to ignore the feeling that as a prefect, he really ought to be sending everyone back to the tower, and instead sincerely hoped that Snape and his Slytherins had given up and gone to bed.

* * *

Spells snapped and banged overhead, sizzling through the air and striking the walls, the statues, and the floor directly in front of Peter's feet. He danced backward, colliding with Fabian Prewett, who had been in the process of deflecting a spell. The light arched wide and smashed into the wall, slicing a chunk of stone.

"Give yourself up Black!" Severus Snape roared over the noise of the fight. Peter had seen Snape angry before, but never quite this level of furious. The effect was even more frightening than usual.

"Come and get me Snivellus!"

Peter thought about telling Sirius that he was really in no position to be taunting anyone, since they were badly outnumbered and only holding the hallway by sheer luck. Avery and Mulciber and several more largely unidentifiable Slytherins seemed quite determined to hex any and all Gryffindors in the area. Fabian and Sirius were doing most of the actual attacking, leaving Peter to do his best to keep anyone, including himself, from being hit. After shouting and raving for ten or so minutes, Joanna had positioned herself behind a suit of armor and refused to move, occasionally demanding to be taken back to Regulus. For his part, Peter was just hoping Regulus and friends stayed stunned for a few more hours. Adding three more Slytherins to this fight was not particularly appealing. A jet of purple light arched through the air and Peter barely cast a Shield Charm in time. In the flickering light, Peter spotted Sirius braced against the statue opposite Joanna, eyes as dark as his smile. Peter shuddered and pretended not to notice. The spells came louder and more frequently now.

"_Expelliarmus!"_

"_Stupefy!"_

"_Reducto!"_

"Bloody hell!"

"That is still not a spell, Sirius," Peter shouted without thinking, half turning to see what had happened. Panic seized him at the sight of Sirius, seething and arms raised, Evan Rosier holding a wand to his neck.

"Hello again Pettigrew."

Peter thought he managed to squeak out some response, but judging by Rosier's laughter that seemed unlikely. Fabian was still fighting, taking on all the other Slytherins at once as Peter and Sirius stood frozen in the center of the corridor. Regulus Black arrived seconds later, accompanied by Nott, who already had a spectacular black eye. Despite the circumstances and the cold mass of fear that had taken up residence in his chest, Peter could not help but feel a little proud of himself.

"Peter, I believe you've taken something of mine," Regulus said coolly.

"You can have her," Peter muttered, still aware of the stinging pain in his face where he had been slapped for his troubles. "I didn't realize you were ah...um...yes."

Regulus crossed the hall and offered a hand to Joanna, a jet of blue light striking the ground near his feet. Either Regulus did not notice or did not care, but either way his composure was impressive.

"Well, we are. And I'd appreciate it if you'd mind your own business from now on."

Joanna smiled beautifully at Regulus, then promptly scowled and stuck her tongue out at Peter. He resolved at the moment to do thorough background research before attempting further rescues.

"What we going to do about him?" Rosier pointed his wand toward Peter, and Peter felt reasonably confident he might pass out. Nott, too, seemed eager for revenge, and Regulus did not look as though he were prepared to stop them. Before anyone had a chance to act however, footsteps thundered down the corridor as James Potter and Remus Lupin joined the fight, accompanied by Frank Longbottom and the other Prewett twin. Peter's heart soared, and Sirius shouted a positively joyous "Prongs!", and then all hell proceeded to break loose.

James fired once at Rosier, knocking the wand from his hand and allowing Sirius to jab the rather surprised Slytherin in the face with his elbow. Rosier toppled backward, and Sirius very nearly tackled James in what Peter suspected was actually a hug.

"What took you so long?"

"I've been looking for you all night you git!" James protested. "And here you've gone and started all the fun without me!"

"Next time I'll tell Snivellus to wait and chase me around the castle until after you've showed up."

"Brilliant."

And with that, James and Sirius turned their attention to the Slytherins down the corridor, who had renewed their attack with enthusiasm. Remus jinxed Nott and banished him to the opposite side of the corridor, and Peter resisted an urge to cheer at his friends arrival. A hex flew at him, and Peter cast a quick shield and then fired back, suddenly feeling much more confident now that he knew James and Remus would be there to help. Both the Prewett twins had taken up positions on his right, and Frank Longbottom ducked and dodged around spells with an ease that betrayed none of his usual clumsiness. Peter caught sight of a dark haired boy and a blond girl dashing between the statues and into the Slytherin lines. Regulus and Joanna clearly did not plan to stick around and fight.

"Why don't we just go back the way we came?" Frank shouted. He pointed his wand at an approaching Slytherin, and with a loud bang the boy was dangling upside down by his ankles.

"They're between us and the tower!" Remus answered, confirming what Peter had suspected all along. Someone swore, and then the spells were flying faster and louder again, and the Slytherins had started closing in, faces distorted by Sirius' color jinx and blatant fury. But the Gryffindors were just as determined now, moving forward and into the battle, no longer on the defensive. There was Mulciber, dueling James, and Avery against Sirius. Parkinson and a big blond whose name Peter did not know had taken on the Prewett twins, and Frank seemed to be fighting Barty Crouch. Remus, meanwhile, had taken on Snape in what had to be the most intense of the duels. Snape still looked furious, Remus oddly calm, and for a moment, Peter bitterly envied his friend as his own heart fluttered. Ducking another spell, Peter found himself suddenly in a furious duel of his own against Wallace Macnair. He fought a sudden rush of sick, staggering fear, raising his wand and casting shield charms as fast as he could manage, moving forward all the while. Macnair never seemed to realize he had been pushed into a corner, and when Peter surprised him with an impediment jinx, the spell struck home. Peter whooped with delight and spun to see if anyone was watching. He turned in time to see Frank stun the Crouch boy, and the Prewett twins standing victoriously over their challengers. Sirius let out a bark like laugh and disarmed Avery in a fluid, easy motion, and with a bang Avery found himself hanging upside down in mid-air. Without thinking, Peter stepped forward to congratulate Sirius on a spectacular victory, and walked directly into the middle of James' duel with Avery.

"Watch out Wormtail!" James shouted, leaning around him to fire, "_Reducto!_"

Peter stumbled backward, apologizing quickly and backing directly into Remus, who twisted reflexively and nearly jinxed him in the face.

"Sorry," Peter stammered, "I was...James was dueling and I-"

But Remus' eyes had gone wide, and he roughly shoved Peter out of the way and cast a hasty shield charm as Snape shouted, _"Sectumsempra!"_

The spell quite literally sliced through the air, and Peter remained on the ground where he had fallen, hands covering his head. There was a tearing sound, and a half-muffled cry of pain and the dull thud of something hitting the floor, and then the corridor went deathly silent.

* * *

A/N(Part 2) - Yeah I know, cliffhanger of doom! I'm sorry, I hadn't originally planned on one and then it just sort of happened. And I promise, I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can!


	5. For Every Action

A/N - The long awaited and much anticipated part the fifth, wherein we take a turn away from the humorous and toward a darker side - namely that of each character's reaction to the end of chapter 4. I had some hesitation about this, since I started out aiming to write a humor fic, but this is just sort of the way the story went. Special thanks to gurugirl and Sarahpop for their highly esteemed opinions on the matter. Btw, Sarahpop, I would like to note I did indeed knock the rest out in a couple of hours, edits and all. So here we go, the early morning post of chapter 5. oh, and yes, there will be another after this. Just sort of happened. Anyway, I'll stop rambling. Go read!

* * *

The next few seconds happened in vivid flashes. Peter would always remember the moment in snapshots, a blur of rapid breathing and the smell of sweat and coppery blood and shouts and bangs and yells. First of Remus, sprawled on the floor, an ugly gash on his left side arching from his collarbone to his shoulder, his face white and his hands desperately covering the wound. Snape standing a few feet away, his jaw set and eyes triumphant. He spoke, he must have, because his mouth moved and he pointed his wand at Remus once more, but Peter could never recall the words. Then there was a quivering arm and a jaw clamped tightly against the pain as Remus raised his own wand and sent Snape tumbling backwards several feet. James, eyes flashing and yelling furiously, charging at Snape and firing hexes as he moved. Sirius, face dangerously cold, outrunning James and not even bothering with his wand as he pounced on Snape. Fists and shouts and angry, flying hexes. And then Remus again, wand clattering to the floor as he pressed both hands over the gaping cu now, blood seeping through his fingers, staining his shirt, pooling beneath him. Ragged, harsh breathing as Remus squeezed his eyes shut and went positively grey.

Then the snapshots stopped and the only thing that existed in the world was a furious, burning pain as guilt rocketed through Peter like a stray hex. His fault. This was entirely his fault. And he could seem to do nothing but sit on his knees and look on helplessly as Remus lay bleeding in the floor. Frank Longbottom stooped down into Peter's line of sight, flanked by the Prewett twins. All three looked unusually grave, and Peter knew without asking that Remus had been hurt very badly.

"I dunno the spell," Peter murmured. "I'm sorry."

Frank gave him an odd look, and Peter feared for a moment that he knew, that Frank had seen him stumble into Remus' way.

"I'm not fantastic at healing spells either. We ought to get him to Madame Pomfrey."

"We can't move him," Gideon shook his head.

"He'd bleed to death before we reached the hospital wing," Fabian concluded.

"What do you suggest we do then?" Frank demanded, gesturing toward Remus, who had grown quite still. Peter pressed two fingers to his friend's neck, feeling icy skin and a faint pulse and even more guilty for his part in causing the injury.

"I could patch him up," Gideon's eyes went from his wand to Remus. "At least enough to move him."

His words were punctuated by the sound of bangs and snaps and fist on flesh as James and Sirius continued their furious assault. Peter considered joining them, wanting desperately to move away from the scene he had caused. But he found himself rooted to the spot, fixed and horrified and utterly unable to move. Frank Longbottom's voice snapped him back to reality.

"Peter, hold onto his arm."

"What?" Peter glanced up, entirely confused. He felt utterly dazed, like he had fallen into some sort of bizarre dream. Any minute now he would wake up in his own bed, sunlight streaming in the window and his friends asleep nearby.

"Hold onto Remus' arm like I am," Frank said slowly. "Gideon's going to try and heal him, and we have to keep him still."

"Oh."

Peter's hands did not seem to respond, and he felt oddly disconnected. Sluggishly he latched onto Remus' arm, the skin feeling cold beneath his hands, and he pressed down, willing Remus to understand how truly sorry he was. Then Gideon started trying to repair the damage, and Remus' eyes snapped open and whatever the spell was must have hurt because he fought desperately to get away. Then there was a howl of pain that echoed of moonlit nights, and Peter shuddered as Remus went still. Gideon continued working, sweat evident on his forehead, and Peter shut his eyes, willing himself not to be sick.

* * *

Remus had always liked dueling, had always enjoyed the the rush of adrenaline and the steady thrum of his racing heart. He had always possessed quick reflexes and even quicker spells, and was quite easily one of the best in the school. He loved the split second thought and the clear, calm determination that always settled over him. Snape seemed to be much of the same tendency, only his magic was far more angry and wild. Remus countered and parried and struck again and again, eager and exhilarated and unable to stop the grin that spread over his face. There was an opening, a split second opening where Snape tripped up on the words and stood entirely unguarded. And Remus would have finished the duel instantly had he himself not been distracted. Admittedly, James had startled Peter, because Peter clearly had not meant to distract anyone. But Remus twisted and there was Peter, all wide eyes and apologies, and the chance was gone. Snape recovered quite well, and Remus caught the dark look in the Slytherin boy's eyes. _Get Peter out of the line of fire_. His mind seemed only to acknowledge that one thought, and his hands obeyed, shoving Peter onto the floor and away just as the spell was cast.

"_Sectumsempra!"_

Remus tossed up a hasty shield charm that did little but slow the spell, and he leaned away quickly in a last ditch effort to protect himself. Luckily, the spell arched wide as he leaned, and instead of splitting him in half the blow caught him just below the collarbone. The effect was quite like being stabbed, and the phantom knives curved upward and over his shoulder, striking deep and painful and cold. Remus thought he might have shouted or cried out but he only had a moment to press a hand to the rapidly reddening wound before his knees buckled and he fell to the floor.

Dark stones above him and a chill in the air, and he could hear his own heartbeat and his own ragged breathing. Everything else seemed entirely silent. Past the outline of his feet stood Snape, glowering and triumphant and breathing hard, wand raised once more. Remus had no idea whether Snape intended to attack him or one of the other boys, but had no intention of allowing either. Snape had been his to duel. His to finish. Jaw clamped tightly against the pain, telling himself he had been hurt far worse on full moon nights and refusing to allow himself to give in, Remus found his wand. His hands felt numb against the wood, and the effort required to raise his arm drew a fresh sheen of sweat on his forehead, his arm trembling in the air. The spell was nonverbal, a stunner that sent Snape tumbling backwards and seemed to launch James and Sirius toward the downed Slytherin. Relief flooded through him, and then fresh pain from his shoulder and Remus dropped his wand and clamped both hands over the gash. Blood seeped through his fingers, warm and sticky and staining his hands, his shirt, his skin. He could taste copper in the back of his throat and suddenly breathing seemed very, very hard, like the air had become quite heavy. Remus closed his eyes, suddenly cold and tired and very much ready to sleep. The spell must have struck deeper than he thought. Arteries, his mind told him, those were important and ought not to be cut. His present condition made a good argument for such a statement. Vaguely he was aware of voices above him, of swearing and bangs further away down the corridor. Suddenly his hands were peeled away from the gash by warm, strong hands that held him down as a wand touched his skin. The spell worked in a blur of fire and needles and Remus knew he must have howled and tried to get free, eyes opening wide as he gasped for air. Peter kneeled to his left, looking utterly miserable and holding down one arm. Frank sat to Remus' right, holding the opposite arm with a determined face that made him look far older than his years. Above him was the face of one of the Prewetts, his frown looking severely out of place. A blur of bodies at the end of the hall, of randomly flashing lights and shrieks and bangs. And then the face of the other Prewett, wand in his hand and an sorrowful look in his eyes. He said something, said the words twice, but Remus failed to hear. The world had taken on a haze, a fog, and everything seemed slow and sluggish and tired. Another spell arched across the wound, and this time there was only an awful, icy cold that wrapped around his heart and squeezed, and then Remus crashed into blissful darkness.

* * *

Sirius had been laughing, that much he remembered. He had been dueling Avery, had disarmed him and upended him over the hallway. And then he had been laughing, had halfway turned toward James, and the laughter had died instantly at the sight of Remus shoving Peter out of the way and taking a curse to the chest. Everything slowed to a painful, grinding halt as Remus paused for just an instant, his eyes wide with shock and his hand flying instantly to the wound. Then he was down, with a thump and a small cry of pain, and fury, dark and boiling and dangerous swelled up inside Sirius. The hall grew red and his vision narrowed on Snape, who was still smirking, wand still outstretched. Sirius could feel his fingernails cutting into the palms of his hands as he squeezed his fists so tight some part of him worried his wand might snap. But that part was distant and far away, a small echo in the face of the furious, howling storm that seemed to have overtaken his mind. Yet despite his anger, Sirius found himself shaking and raging in place, unable to remember how to move. Impossibly Remus raised his wand, throwing Snape back several feet with a loud bang and an ensuing crash, and Sirius' thin control utterly snapped. James moved first, swearing and shouting and firing hexes as he ran. But Sirius had always been quicker and outpaced James easily, not even bothering with any sort of magic as he dove on Snape. Vaguely Sirius was aware that he was shouting and raving, that the rage threatened to burn him form the inside out. But more important at this moment was dealing with the one who had dared to hurt one of Sirius' friends. The Slytherin had landed face down, and Sirius dropped his wand to the floor as he seized Snape by his robes and flipped him over. Snape's wand joined his on the flagstones, rolling away and out of reach. Sirius only caught a fraction of a glimpse of a frightened expression before he smashed his fist into Snape's face. Whatever hex James had used kept Snape from making any noise as his nose broke and Sirius pounded again and again. His heart echoed loud and heavy, matching the rhythm of fist on flesh. His own blood boiling, and Snape's blood staining his fists, Sirius grabbed the front of Snape's robes in one fist. He swore spectacularly and shook Snape roughly, images of a broken and bleeding Remus dancing before his eyes.

"Peter was in the way! He was distracted! Fight fair you dirty git!"

Snape failed to respond, and some part of Sirius' mind suggested that perhaps he could not respond. A much larger part of his mind, however, suggested Sirius continue with the beating. Sirius agreed with the latter. Snape needed to be taught a lesson, after all. This was for Remus' sake. Remus who lay sprawled on the floor a few feet away, his blood staining the floor. Fresh fury swelled up inside Sirius like a white hot flash of lightning and he seized his wand from the floor. No spell came to mind, no words formed within the furious storm that raged inside him. Save one. He had to mean the words, Sirius knew that, how many times had he heard his Death Eater cousins say that? And just now, with his friend bleeding on the floor and hate roaring through him, Sirius felt rather confident he would have no issue providing meaning. He opened his mouth, the words half-formed, and something latched onto his hand.

"Padfoot, no."

Sirius recognized the voice, recognized James, but his mind was screaming for him to act. He struggled against the grip until James shifted and latched one hand around his elbow and the other below his shoulder and pulled. The effort sent them both tumbling backwards and away from Snape.

"Sirius. Stop."

Instantly Sirius stopped struggling, met James' hazel eyes that swirled with anger and shame and fear, and the raging, furious storm vanished out of him as easily as the sun parting clouds. James watched him a moment longer, unsure what would happen when he let go.

"I'm fine," Sirius rasped. His throat suddenly felt scratchy and dry, as though he had been shouting loudly. "Fine."

James leaned back and released his hold, albeit with a dubious look. Sirius sat up slowly, eyes on the lump that had been Severus Snape. He now bore more of a resemblance to a rainbow colored eel, and a rather severely beaten eel at that. With a sudden sense of dawning horror, Sirius glanced down at his own hands. His knuckles were cracked and bleeding, though how much of the blood belonged to him and how much to Snape was difficult to tell. He was suddenly aware of a sickly, wet feeling where he held his wand. Pulling his fingers away slowly, the wand dropped to the floor with a clatter, splattering blood on the flagstones.

"What did I do?"

The question had been barely more than a whisper, but James heard as always.

"You sort of went crazy mate. You had this awful look on your face and you just...went sort of crazy."

"I didn't...he's not," Sirius gestured toward Snape, and James shook his head. "I'd apologize, but I don't think he's worth it."

"That's fine with me," James snorted. "But we do need to get out of here. Slughorn's on the way."

"How'd Slughorn find out about this?" Sirius demanded, instantly rising to his feet. A sick feeling crept over him at the sight of Snape's face, at what he had done in his fury. He pushed the thought back with a shudder, unwilling to dwell and determined to never think of the incident again. James handed Sirius his wand, holding the bloodstained wood by two fingers.

"I'd imagine your brother had something to do with it. And we were making plenty of noise."

"Admittedly true."

"Not to mention he's probably got McGonagall with him," James observed.

"Then we really should leave," Sirius agreed. "Where's Remus?"

James hesitated now, sliding a foot or so to the right and allowing Sirius a view of the scene. One of the Prewett twins and Frank Longbottom were holding onto Remus as the other twin worked at the gash with his wand. Peter sat nearby, limply holding onto Remus' arm in a clear attempt at being helpful. The sight brought fresh anger roaring through Sirius. Peter had caused the mess to begin with. He started forward, mouth curling back into a snarl, but James seized him by the shoulder.

"Wormtail feels bad enough, just look at him. Let him alone for now."

Sirius glared at James for an instant, then shook away the hand that held him.

"Fine. What are we going to do about Moony then?"

"Take him to the hospital wing as soon as possible," Frank answered now as James and Sirius approached the make-shift operation. The twin - Gideon - who had been using his wand to try and heal the gash now leaned back and wiped a hand across his forehead.

"This stuff's dark, it just won't heal right. We need to get him to Madame Pomfrey."

"What are we going to tell her, exactly?" Sirius asked. He had not felt so worried until he saw the damage up close. In fact he had been imagining that Remus would be leaned against a wall, casually ready to admonish all of them for being in the fight to begin with. Currently, Remus seemed far too pale, really more grey, and all around him was red. "He's not...is he...going to be alright?"

"He's passed out," Fabian shrugged, clearly trying not to look ill. "Whatever Gideon tried first reacted badly with the curse."

"It was a simple healing charm," Gideon sniffed. "And I don't care what you tell her. Just get him to the Hospital Wing."

Voices trickled up the corridor, footsteps and shadows as wand light flared. James swore and pounded his fist into the floor in frustration. Sirius could not help but share the feeling, looking helplessly down at Remus, sincerely sorry he had dragged them all out of the common room this night.

* * *

James had barely been able to finish his own duel, his attention captured by Remus shoving Peter out of harms way seconds before Snape's curse struck. He and Mulciber had both stopped to watch as Remus' hand strayed to the ugly wound for a moment before he crumpled to the floor. James' eyes flicked to Frank, who looked profoundly shocked, to the Prewett twins, who wore identical expressions of horror. Sirius stood seething in place, Peter still cowered where he had fallen on the floor, and Snape glowered and glared down at Remus, wand raised once more. Anger flared through James, outrage that Snape would attack a downed opponent, but Remus had already raised his own wand to the surprise of everyone in the corridor. Snape tumbled backwards, and as though a switch had been flipped James reacted as well, already moving before Remus' wand hit the ground. Mulciber had still been watching, his jaw hanging open, and James hexed him before the burly Slytherin had time to think. And with Mulciber out of the way, James felt quite free to sprint towards Snape, already firing every hex he could think of, mind roaring furiously and heart racing. Sirius sprinted past him, dropping his wand and diving on Snape in a flurry of fists and furious words. James danced around the edge of the fight, still furious and deathly afraid that Remus was going to die. His mind told him that Remus had been hurt worse before, that he would be fine. But a glance back to the now-gray face of his friend and the rapidly spreading pool of red summoned a cold dread within his chest. Sirius had settled for beating Snape bloody, shouting and ranting bizarre threats all the while. By the time James was finished, Snape rather looked like an eel, the part of him that was still visible around Sirius, and he had been feeling very proud of himself until Frank's voice cut in.

"James, Slughorn's on his way down here."

"What?" James spun, unbelieving, wincing at the sight of Remus and the sound of his howl. "What are you doing?" 

"Gideon's trying to heal him," Frank managed through clenched teeth as he worked to hold Remus in place on the floor. "And Fabian's keeping lookout. He's on his way back, says Slughorn's on the way."

"Maybe that's a good thing," James gestured toward Remus.

"How are we going to explain this?" Gideon asked now, glancing up from his work. Remus, James noticed, had gone quite still. The same cold stab flared painfully in his chest.

"Fine. I'll get Sirius and we'll get out of here."

But as James turned back toward Sirius and Snape, he froze at the sight of Sirius' face. Sirius, who always had such a tenuous hold on his temper, who had always far overreacted in defense of his friends, now held his wand to Snape's face. And Sirius' own handsome face had been twisted horribly, his rage personified and his eyes flashing. Without hesitation, James grabbed hold of his friend's wrist.

"Padfoot, no."

Sirius' eyes remained on his target, and he resisted, pulling to free himself from James' grip. But James, for his part, had always been stronger, and he quickly shifted his grip and half-tackled Sirius to the floor.

"Sirius, stop."

Grey eyes flicked up to meet his, cloudy and furious and almost painful to look at but James held the gaze, watched as Sirius returned to himself. Nevertheless, he did not dare release his hold just yet.

"I'm fine," Sirius managed, his voice sounding rough and hoarse, "Fine."

James held his friend's eye a moment longer, just to reassure himself before letting go. He watched as Sirius' face registered the shock of what had just occurred, eyes scanning over Snape and his own bloody hands. The boy's wand clattered to the floor as Sirius realized that the instrument was coated in blood.

"What did I do?"

The question had been barely more than a whisper, but James had never had trouble hearing anyone, much less Sirius. James bit his lip and struggled to find a way to answer without offending - or scaring - Sirius.

"You sort of went crazy mate. You had this awful look on your face and you just...went sort of crazy."

"I didn't...he's not," Sirius gestured toward Snape, and James shook his head. He knew later he would have to have a talk with Sirius, explain how his absolute loss of control frightened the hell out of him like nothing else. But right now, Sirius would only be concerned about getting into trouble and Remus' condition. For now, Snape would be fine, James had made sure of that. "I'd apologize, but I don't think he's worth it," Sirius added with a dark look.

"That's fine with me," James snorted, vivid memory of Sirius' face etched across his mind. "But we do need to get out of here. Slughorn's on the way."

"How'd Slughorn find out about this?" Sirius demanded, instantly rising to his feet.

James picked up Sirius' wand with two fingers, entirely unwilling to have Snape's blood anywhere on him.

"I'd imagine your brother had something to do with it. And we were making plenty of noise."

"Admittedly true."

"Not to mention he's probably got McGonagall with him," James observed, the thought occurring to him suddenly.

"Then we really should leave," Sirius agreed. "Where's Remus?"

James hesitated now, sliding a foot or so to the right and allowing Sirius a view of the scene. Sirius hissed, a sharp intake of breath that told James there had been no serious improvement. Of course, at the sight of Peter sitting beside Remus, Sirius stiffened noticeably, mouth curling into a vicious snarl, and James grabbed hold of his friend's shoulder.

"Wormtail feels bad enough, just look at him. Let him alone for now."

Sirius glared at James for an instant, then shook away the hand that held him.

"Fine. What are we going to do about Moony then?"

"Take him to the hospital wing as soon as possible," Frank answered now as James and Sirius approached the closely huddled group. Gideon wiped a hand across his forehead and frowned down at his work.

"This stuff's dark, it just won't heal right. We need to get him to Madame Pomfrey."

"What are we going to tell her, exactly?" Sirius asked. James glanced sideways and realized that Sirius had gone suddenly solemn. "He's not...is he...going to be alright?"

"He's passed out," Fabian shrugged, clearly trying not to look ill. James had forgotten that ne of the twins tended to be rather squeamish. "Whatever Gideon tried first reacted badly with the curse."

"It was a simple healing charm," Gideon sniffed. "And I don't care what you tell her. Just get him to the Hospital Wing."

Voices trickled up the corridor, footsteps and shadows as wand light flared. James swore and pounded his fist into the floor in frustration.

"That'll be the professors. We're all in trouble now."

"Not necessarily," Gideon flicked his wand and conjured a stretcher beneath Remus. "Can you at least levitate him?"

"Of course I can," James felt highly offended by the question, raising his wand and lifting the stretcher off the ground. The floor beneath was stained crimson, and James quickly looked away. Gideon waved his wand and vanished away the pool of blood on the stones, earning shudders from Fabian and Sirius.

"We'll stay and take care of the professors," Frank murmured, shoving his wand into his pocket. "You three take him and go."

James grinned now, and he knew perhaps the timing was awful, but he could not resist. Sirius seized Peter roughly and hauled him to his feet. Peter's eyes were still glassy with shock and James felt rather sorry for him. Then Sirius and Peter were past, jogging down the hall, and James levitated the stretcher forward.

"Thanks. And good luck!"

Frank waved and managed a wan smile, and then he and the Prewett twins turned to face the approaching professors. James kept his eyes off Snape where he lay on the floor, watching the Sirius and Peter instead, the stretcher floating along through the air. The adrenaline and excitement of the evening had vanished entirely, overtaken by the awful, cold dread. Remus still had yet to move again, and James was highly glad the hospital wing was close by.

Sirius and Peter reached the doors first, scowling at each other as they shoved. James strongly suspected that the pair had been arguing but really failed to care at the moment. Currently he was much more concerned with his friend who had been bleeding to death on the floor. Rushing through the open doors, the stretcher floating out in front of him, James instantly started yelling for help.

"Madame Pomfrey!"

The nurse came running from a side door, an apron half-tied over her nightgown.

"Potter? What's happened? What-"

She froze as she caught sight of Remus, her face going pale and still even as James felt his own face rapidly turning red.

"You've got to do something! He's hurt!"

"Yes, Mr. Potter I had noticed that," Madame Pomfrey raised an eyebrow, pointing her wand at the stretcher and directing a new path toward one of the beds. The stretcher vanished with a pop, and Remus fell atop the sheets. Instantly Madame Pomfrey was at his side, murmuring spells and incantations. James, Sirius, and Peter stood on the opposite side, though the movement from the entrance to Remus' bedside seemed to a blur. Slowly, achingly slowly, the blood returned to the gash, Remus' skin mending itself around the injury.

"I really ought to ask you boys what happened," Madame Pomfrey fixed James, then the others, with a stern look. "But if there's one thing I've learned it's that I'll not get an answer."

James' face colored again, and he dropped his eyes to the floor. He had hoped their excuses were not quite so transparent all these years.

"Will he be alright?" Sirius asked quietly, still watching the nurse with a fierce expression. Madame Pomfrey sighed and nodded, and James' heart leaped as the awful, icy feeling vanished.

"He'll need to rest for awhile, and he's lost a lot of blood, but that's nothing I can't fix. The spell hit an artery, It's a good thing you boys got him here when you did."

James shuddered at the thought of what might have happened, and he watched as Remus' chest rose and fell, reassuring himself that his friend was indeed alive.

"What do we do now?" Peter spoke now, eyes darting from the bedpost to the curtains to anywhere that was not someone's face.

"Sleep," Madame Pomfrey said firmly. "It's after midnight."

"We're not leaving him."

James' mouth had been open, had been about to say those very words, and thus he was very surprised when he heard Peter's voice say them instead. Apparently, just as surprised as Sirius and Madame Pomfrey.

"You can sleep here then, if you insist. It will probably be good to have him wake up with you all here anyway."

The nurse smiled knowingly and waved her wand, conjuring three pairs of striped pajamas on the three beds opposite Remus. Without another word, James pushed Sirius forward, and the three boys filed out of the aisle and changed clothes quickly. Madame Pomfrey vanished their dirty, stained robes with a slight 'tsk', then motioned firmly at the beds.

"I do know you're worried, but you have my word that I'll take good care of him. Sleep."

James managed a smile, then slipped under the blankets and into bed, leaving his glasses on the table beside him. He stared up at the ceiling, hands behind his head, listening as Madame Pomfrey tended to Remus and retracing the evening in his mind. Certainly an exciting Tuesday night, that was to say the least. Idly he wondered if Professor Kirk and the Auror had woken up yet. Then footsteps echoed as the nurse left, the lights leaving with her. Somewhere to his left, Peter seemed to be trying to keep from crying, and James still could not help but feel bad for him. Then Sirius spoke from the bed to James' right, sounding half asleep already.

"Prongs?"

"Yeah Padfoot?"

There was a slight, split second's hesitation.

"I'm sorry."

"I know," James breathed. Sirius seemed content with that, falling immediately silent. James cast one last glance toward Remus, watching through the darkness and wishing for one more reassuring look that his friend was indeed alive. That tomorrow he would be up awake and scolding them all. Then a deep, tired feeling fell over him, the events of the night finally taking their toll. With a gaping yawn, his eyes fell shut, and James Potter drifted off into a dreamless sleep.


	6. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs

A/N - And we have at last reached the closing chapter of our Maruadering adventure. In a much more timely manner, might I add lol.

* * *

Sunlight streamed through the high arched windows, falling across the rows of narrow white beds. In one particular bed, Remus Lupin discovered that the sun seemed to be quite determined for him to wake up. Which was just as well, really, because he'd been having the strangest dream. Grudgingly, slowly, and wondering why in Merlin's name he had forgotten to shut the bed curtains, Remus pushed back the blankets and opened his eyes. He was not, to his surprise, in his comfortable four poster in Gryffindor Tower. Nor was he wearing his own pajamas, though he had used hospital issue nightclothes enough that he recognized them instantly. Which very likely meant that his dream of chasing Sirius through the castle had been no dream at all. He suspected that the ensuing battle with multi-colored Slytherins had been no dream either. His shoulder ached, and further inspection revealed a thick white bandage wrapped around his chest and shoulder. Memory came hurtling back, of angry Slytherins and the duel with Snape. Pushing Peter out of the way just as the curse was cast. And then there had been pain and cold and...Remus frowned as he realized that he had no memory of reaching the hospital wing. He groaned and fell back against the bed, hands covering his face. He was still maintaining that position, mental ranting about missed sleep and missed classes when a whispered voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Moony?"

Whispered or not, Sirius always sounded as though he were fully prepared to shout if necessary. Remus contemplated feigning sleep, but decided damage to his hearing on top of everything else that had happened was not a pleasant prospect.

"Yes Sirius?"

"Oh good. Prongs, he's awake."

Remus parted the fingers that covered one eye and glared in the general direction of where Sirius stood against the footboard. Then there was a loud thump and the mattress shifted as James leaped onto the end of the bed, careful to avoid Remus' feet. With a heavy sigh, Remus removed both hands from his face and sat upright in bed before either of the boys could decide he needed assistance.

James leaned against the footboard, sitting cross-legged and grinning cheerily, his glasses crooked and his hair messy as always. Sirius had now perched himself on the footboard, balanced precariously in what Remus assumed was meant to be a daringly nonchalant position. Peter stood off to one side, closer to the empty bed to the left and fiddling with the hem of his hospital issue pajamas. In fact, Remus realized they were all sporting the attractive blue and white striped hospital pajamas.

"What exactly happened last night?"

James and Sirius both looked fully prepared to launch into excitable story mode, but Peter's eyes instantly darted up to meet Remus', an odd expression on his face.

"You don't remember?"

"I," Remus shrugged, "I remember parts of it. Something keeps telling me this is all Sirius' fault."

At the mention of his name, Sirius promptly stuck his tongue out and scowled.

"That's not fair Moony. I was on a mission."

All three boys turned very pointed looks toward Sirius now, James watching his friend suspiciously over top of his glasses.

"What exactly did you do anyway, Padfoot?"

"Oh," Sirius gave a casual wave, but no one missed the spark in his eyes. Remus groaned again and shook his head as Sirius continued. "Oh, nothing much. I just took a brief sojourn to the Slytherin common room. Changed the color of some draperies, hexed the portrait to turn anyone who went through red and gold, that sort of thing."

Sirius relayed this story while casually inspecting his fingernails, feigning lack of interest. James, meanwhile, seemed to be highly impressed, and Peter looked to have regained some of his usual eager excitement. Remus, for his part, felt rather confident his eyebrows had reached the middle of his forehead and knew for a fact that his mouth was hanging open. The prefect in him was raving, the prankster was hysterical, and Remus chose to articulate the former of the two reactions.

"You did what?"

"As I said Moony, nothing too terribly dramatic," Sirius grinned now. "Although I think it might be awhile before they fix it."

"I think you need to work on your color charms," James mused, "Snape looked more pink than red."

Sirius nodded dutifully and mimed writing the suggestion down.

"I shall keep that in mind. Now, I have to wonder, after all the earlier protests about being busy, what in Merlin's name were all of you doing out wandering the castle?"

Remus felt color creeping slowly across his face, matched by James' sheepish grin and Peter's suddenly wide-eyed expression.

"Well," Remus traced circles on the bedspread with his good hand, "Well, we decided to come and look for you."

"I'm flattered," Sirius said. "Couldn't you have just used the map?"

"Someone," Remus shot a glare at James, "Decided to make it a contest."

James lifted up onto his knees now, eyes bright and sloppy grin wavering in an effort to keep from laughing.

"What Moony was trying to say is that it was more interesting without the map."

"So you forgot it in the common room," Sirius guessed, one eyebrow raised.

"Ah, yes."

"Well, Moony found me," Sirius observed, which Remus greatly appreciated. "So what were you two doing?"

Peter continued staring at the floor until he realized that all the other boys were watching.

"I-I um, I went down toward the kitchens as Wormtail, and I sort...sort of ran into Rosier and Nott taking Joanna Dearborn from the Hufflepuff common room."

"A kidnapping!" James exclaimed, sprawling across the bed so that his arms and legs hung off the sides. Remus had to admit that he himself found the story to be rather intriguing, but Sirius' dark grin acted as warning that something had not gone spectacularly well.

"I thought so," Peter shrugged, "So I followed them, and they took her to the trophy room, but I hexed Rosier and Nott and...and Regulus...and got her away."

Despite the rush of words, Remus quite easily picked up the mention of Regulus Black, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Regulus and Joanna?"

"Caradoc will be thrilled," James laughed. "He'll probably kill Regulus for that. Joanna must have been upset."

At this, Sirius began to laugh at loud, losing his grip on the bedpost and tumbling to the floor. Peter shot a glare in the direction of his laughing friend and then continued.

"More upset with me. Apparently they're together. You chased Regulus and friends away from the fight when you showed up," Peter grumbled, hand pressed against one side of his face. Remus had a vague suspicion that there must have been yelling and slapping involved, knowing Joanna. Honestly he felt a bit bad for Peter and his attempted heroics but could not help laughing. James, too, had removed his glasses and squeezed his eyes shut as he roared with laughter, the bed shaking.

"So...so you're the kidnapper then Wormtail?" James finally managed, wiping his eyes and replacing his glasses. Peter seemed highly offended by this, and fumed for a moment, seating himself on the far bed.

"I was trying to help!"

"Course you were," Remus winced as the laughter pulled at his bandages and the sensitive, still healing skin. "But maybe you should consider that the next time you ever try rescuing damsels in distress."

"That's fine with me," Peter managed a small smile at that before returning his attention to James. "So what exactly were you doing?"

James sobered immediately, propping his chin in one hand and mussing his hair with the other.

"You see...I went to the Great Hall, and I ran into Kingsley. He and his friends, you know, Frank Longbottom and Edmund Bones, said they'd seen strangers in the castle."

"Bones!" Sirius shook his fist in the air, the only part of him visible from his place in the floor. "You hexed him, didn't you James? Tell me you hexed him!"

"No," James looked truly regretful of this fact, "But I did go with them, to help and all. Thought they might be Death Eaters."

Remus could not help but feel the idea seemed ridiculous at best, but certainly one that would have caught the attention of James Potter. The reasoning explained some things, that much was true. Sirius, meanwhile, had reappeared over the edge of the footboard, or at least his eyes and fingers.

"My dear Prongs, if any of my kind and loving cousins were at Hogwarts, I certainly think I'd know about it."

"Weren't your cousins," James said dryly. "Turns out Professor Kirk likes to invite old Auror friends back to visit."

Remus found himself shaking with laughter once more at the memory of the James' face that the two strangers he had attacked had not been Death Eaters at all. He bit his lip in an effort to keep from actually laughing out loud. Sirius' eyes widened and instantly the rest of him appeared in a blur as he propelled himself over the footboard and onto James. The combined weight drew a groan from the bed as well as from Remus, his injury clearly objecting to all the excitement.

"You hexed Kirk?" Peter's eyes were wide, whether from admiration or shock Remus was unsure.

"Oh not just Kirk," James managed to squirm his way out from under a laughing Sirius. "His friend too. We stunned both of them, Frank and I did."

"Did you recognize the other fellow?" Sirius asked.

"Alastor Moody," Remus said cooly, in between bouts of snickering. "They hexed Alastor Moody."

This brought a fresh wave of barking laughter from Sirius, who resisted James' attempts to shove him off the bed.

"You lot...you and Frank...you hexed one of the best Dark wizard catchers in an age?"

"Apparently so," James looked quite proud of himself for this fact. "I'm amazingly good you know."

"I should think you'd get more points if in fact you had actually hexed Death Eaters," Remus pointed out. Based on the glare the statement earned him, Remus guessed that only his injury kept him from being beaten with a pillow or worse.

"Personally Remus, I find myself wondering what you and Gideon were doing in that classroom," James said airily, leaning back against the footboard again, one leg hanging off the bed and Sirius seated beside him, looking far too energetic for whatever time of morning it presently was.

"Oh, oh I know this one! At least I think I do!" Sirius raised a hand eagerly.

"Hush Padfoot. I want to hear Remus tell it," James said. Sirius pouted for a moment, then shifted into a position that looked alarmingly like a dog at attention, waiting for Remus to begin.

"Well, I found Sirius, and a mob of angry Slytherins chasing him. Only he seemed quite enraptured by a painting, so I tackled him."

"I think that's unfair. I was talking to the painting," Sirius interjected. "And the tackling was highly unnecessary."

"It did at least, get us out of the line of fire," Remus observed, "And we sprinted away down the hall with the Slytherins fairly close behind."

"I am sorry to say we did indeed run, Prongs," Sirius nodded sorrowfully at James.

"You were outnumbered I thought," James frowned. "Mob, didn't you say?"

"Yes! Thank you," Remus said. "Anyway, we rounded a corner and very literally ran into the Prewett twins."

Peter winced visibly, but Sirius was laughing again at the memory.

"Gideon thought you'd broken his nose."

"My knee and shoulder hold no sympathy for Gideon's nose. The twins came with us, and for some reason Sirius was in the lead and he didn't know which way to go. So we split up, and Gideon and I hid out in the classroom," Remus concluded. "Until of course, you found us."

"And Fabian and I began defending the hallway," Sirius put his hands on his hips and grinned in an effort to look important. "Then Peter showed up with the girl, who slapped him."

Peter made some noise of protest, but any words were utterly lost by the once more echoing laughter from the other three boys.

"And then Remus and I showed up with Frank and Gideon and saved the day," James declared proudly, slapping a high five with Remus, albeit awkwardly given the injured shoulder. "Did you see me against Mulciber? And Remus, you were fantastic against Snape!"

Remus murmured a quick thanks, his face coloring rapidly, perfectly content to let the conversation go on without further mention of that particular duel.

"I took on Macnair!" Peter said quickly. "I hexed him, it was brilliant."

"Avery never stood a chance against me," Sirius said, pretending he had a wand and was still dueling from his seat on the bed. "And Frank, Merlin, Frank can fight!"

Remus remained silent, entirely content to listen to the rush of words and laughter and reenactments. Peter had finally come alive, occasionally shooting fleeting glances in the direction of Remus shoulder but otherwise content to listen to James and Sirius' less than factual version of the duels. James and Sirius themselves seemed possessed of an energy that always simmered just below the surface, wild and young and free. Still seated on the bed the duo had launched into an elaborate retelling of the battle, complete with hand motions and sound effects. Sunlight danced over the room, lending a golden glow to the scene, and Remus knew that despite the gash that still throbbed unseen beneath the bandages, this would always be one of his favorite memories.

Then the moment passed, and James and Sirius calmed in a series of deep breaths and contented, sighed, agreements, and all attention turned back toward Remus.

"I didn't say anything," Remus shook his head, smiling. "Feel free to continue."

"Actually we were waiting for our lecture," James grinned cheerily, motioning with his hand for Remus to begin. "Anytime you so choose."

"You hate lectures," Remus' eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Of course we do," Sirius agreed. "But we figure we got you hurt, so we ought to listen to one of your dumb lectures. Oh, and Peter's very sorry for being clumsy and almost getting you decapitated."

Peter blushed furiously at this, and his eyes immediately went to the floor.

"I really am," the agreement was more a breath than a whisper, but Remus still heard. Had Peter been within range of his good arm, Remus would have tried to give the boy's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, some acknowledgement of acceptance. Under present circumstances, Remus had to settle for a crooked smile and an "I know." He resolved to give Peter large amounts of chocolate later.

"Don't worry, I'd push you out of the way again if I had to."

"Remus, you bloody noble prat. Have you ever once considered not being the one to get hurt?" Sirius punched him lightly in his good shoulder. Remus feigned thought for a moment.

"I'm a bit more resilient than the rest of you. I shudder to think what might happen if I didn't intervene. Besides, I'm too much of a gentleman."

"Being a gentleman only applies when girls are involved," James snorted. "We are nearly sixth year Gryffindor males. We have no need of gentlemanly protection."

"Fine. Too much of a Gryffindor then?" Remus offered.

"Much more acceptable," James agreed. "Now come on, lecture, let's have it."

Remus sighed and ran a hand through his hair, which he had a feeling matched James' own messy mop at present.  "Well, since no one was really hurt..."

"Cept for you, of course," Sirius prodded at the bandages as gently as possible.

"And Snape," James admitted with a sideways glance at Sirius. Sirius suddenly found great interest in the intricate workings of the footboard.

"What happened to Severus?" Remus frowned, unable to remember much past stunning the Slytherin down the hall. James seemed to be working very hard not to smile, which never preceded any sort of good news.

"Sirius and I taught him a lesson. Sirius' was just a bit more...berserker style than mine."

Remus fought valiantly to suppress the horrific images of whatever James and Sirius had done to Severus Snape, to no avail.

"You really shouldn't have..."

"Come on Moony," Sirius snorted, "All for one and one for all."

"That's musketeers, Sirius," Remus groaned, "We're marauders."

Sirius shrugged spectacularly and seemed entirely unbothered by the observation.

"A mere technicality."

"Dare I ask where Severus is now?" Remus had an awful feeling the answer would be 'Oh, a few beds down,' and was proven correct when James pointed toward a curtained section of beds a few yards away. There were days Remus wondered if he could have been a Seer.

"Slughorn brought him and a couple other Slytherins in this morning a bit after we got here," James explained. "We were asleep."

Remus had been fully prepared to agree with the logic of that statement until he realized that he actually possessed no memory of reaching the hospital wing.

"If you don't mind my asking, how did we get here?"

"You sort of...passed out, after Gideon tried to heal you," Peter's words were halting and stumbling, his eyes on Remus' shoulder. "James levitated a stretcher up here, to carry you."

"Oh," the explanation seemed quite fitting, although oddly absent of any more exciting embellishments. Remus guessed that probably meant the story was indeed quite true. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," James grinned. "Now, are you going to get on with this lecture or are you going to continue rambling off topic?"

"If this were an essay, you'd be losing points, Mr. Lupin," Sirius agreed solemnly. At least, as solemnly as Sirius could ever manage. Remus rolled his eyes and grinned.

"Alright um...I suppose since we really didn't get into trouble this time-"

"I wouldn't say that," Peter laughed now, shaking his head fiercely.

"McGonagall was not pleased," James agreed.

"We've all got a month's worth of detention," Sirius concluded proudly. "Frank and the Prewetts included. Suppose the Slytherins got it too?"

"Two weeks," James shook his head, "Due to injuries I suspect."

Remus listened to the exchange with little to no reaction, having been entirely too stunned at the prospect of a month's worth of detention. That certainly had to be a new record, even for James and Sirius. He knew the amount was record-setting for him at least. And somehow he could not help but remember that he had been dragged from the common room nearly against his will. Suddenly, lecturing seemed like a very easy thing to do.

"You mean we spent all evening running about the castle, well past curfew, and you," he looked to Peter here, "inadvertently kidnapped someone. You," here his glare shifted to James, "hexed a teacher AND an Auror, and you," Sirius now found himself subjected to Remus' prefect look, "Hexed Slytherins and got them all upset and started a bloody battle in the middle of the school. And dragged me into it!"

"Actually," Sirius tilted his head to one side, "You sort of came running into it. Both times."

Remus clenched his jaw, counted to ten, and hoped Sirius knew how lucky he was to be out of striking distance.

"That's beside the point. Look how much trouble we've gotten into this time!"

James and Sirius did an admirable job of at least looking apologetic and slightly ashamed, Remus suspected Peter's expression was the only truly genuine one in the bunch. With a sigh Remus pressed his thumb and index finger against his temples, willing away the impending headache. Merlin he hated to admit it, but last night had somehow managed to be improbably, ridiculously, fun. His shoulder protested that fact greatly, as did his still aching knee. And his inner prefect seemed inclined to protest that fact as well. But just now his marauder side was winning.

"I was reading," he sighed finally, leaning back into the pillow.

"We know," James grinned.

"We are sorry about that," Peter had scooted closer to the bed now, once again part of the group, as though some sort of unspoken punishment had been fulfilled.

"Sort of," Sirius shrugged before a grin identical to James' stretched across his face.

"Why am I not surprised?" Remus laughed, shaking his head. "Dare I ask how many classes we've missed?"

A look passed between James and Sirius, as though they had been expecting that particular question to arise at some point.

"We're not to leave the hospital wing all day," Sirius pressed the back of his hand to his forehead. "We're sick and injured you know."

"And we're really only just got rid of Pomfrey," James said, casting a look toward the door at the mention of the nurse.

"A day in the hospital wing," Remus grumbled, "What else is new?"

"At least this time, we're here with you," Peter offered, smiling softly and still clearly unsure how much talking he was allowed.

"Suppose you're right," Remus smiled in return.

All of the boys were quiet for a moment, bathed in sunlight and spring air. Peter, hands pressed on the top of the mattress, eagerly waiting for the next great and exciting thing. Sirius, legs stretched across the bed and one arm slung over the footboard, looking every inch like reclining royalty in striped pajamas. And James, cross-legged and bright eyed, hands mussing his hair with great enthusiasm. Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. And Moony, he added with a rueful grin. Moony, with an injured shoulder and a slight irritation at the loss of his reading time, who nonetheless would never have traded his friends for anything in the world. He supposed, after all, that daring rescues, damsels in distress, and midnight battles were what being a Marauder was all about.

_Finite Incantatem _

* * *

A/N (again) So there we have it, everyone safe and happy and cheerful. Until the next adventure that is. I've really enjoyed working on this story, and I think I've come to the conclusion that I plan to write a lot more Marauder fics. They're just really fun characters to write. Special thanks to any and all reviewers, most notably Sarahpop and gurugirl for their advice on chapter 5 (yeah you guys get mentioned again. it seemed like a cool thing to do). And if you've just finished and haven't reviewed, you totally should - I definitely wanna hear what you think. Also, I'm considering doing some art for this story? Maybe? And I think I'm going to do a few oneshots before my next multi-chapter fic (of course, this fic was supposed to be a oneshot, and we see how that worked out. so no guarantees lol). I do believe I've rambled on enough here, so thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!


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